Ground operations and imminent landing runway selection

ABSTRACT

A method and system for locating aircraft with respect to airport runways and taxiways, generating and annunciating situational awareness advisories as a function of aircraft state parameters relative to a determination of the aircraft location.

This application claims the benefit of allowed parent U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/440,461, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,206, issued onJan. 3, 2006, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference which is a continuation in part of edits to the specificationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/800,175, entitled, “INCLUSIONALERTING SYSTEM,” filed in the name of James J. Corcoran III on Mar. 6,2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,563, which is assigned to the assignee ofthe present application, and further claims the benefit of both U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/381,029, filed in the names of KevinJ. Connor, Scott R. Gremmert, Yasuo Ishihara, Ratan Rhatwa and John J.Poe, on May 15, 2002, the complete disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/381,040, filed in the name of Kevin J. Connor on May 15, 2002, thecomplete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices, methods and computer, programproducts for facilitating alerting and enhancing situational awarenessnear airport runways and taxiways, and in particular to devices, methodsand computer program products for generating situational awarenessadvisories and alerts as a function of a position of an installationaircraft relative to airport runways and taxiways.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Runway incursions and taxiway transgressions are currently wellrecognized as major flight safety issues. Runway incursions and taxiwaytransgressions usually involve an inappropriate entry to either or bothof a taxiway and a runway and potentially can result in unsafeseparation from other aircraft or ground vehicles. As with any aviationaccident or incident, the causal chain of events leading to runwayincursions and inappropriate taxiway transgressions is complex. Currentdata show that these events include consequences such as: take-off orlanding from a taxiway; take-off and landing from an incorrect runway;turning onto an incorrect taxiway; unauthorized take-off or landing;unauthorized runway crossing or taxing across an active runway; failureto hold short of a runway prior to departure or unauthorized runwayentry; and unauthorized taxiing. Many occurrences of these eventsinvolve poor pilot approach or on-the-ground situational awareness thathas not been overcome by either current traffic controls or towerinstructions. Furthermore, existing “runway picker” algorithms areuseless during taxi because they simply select the closest runwayendpoint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention facilitates advising and enhances situationalawareness of airport runways and taxiways that overcomes limitations ofthe prior art by providing a method and system for locating aircraftwith respect to airport runways and taxiways, generating andannunciating advisories as a function of aircraft state parametersrelative to the aircraft location determination.

According to one aspect of the invention, the present inventiondetermines the airport runway that the aircraft on which it is installed(hereinafter the “installation aircraft”) is most likely to encounter,whether taxiing, preparing for take-off, or approaching to land.Accordingly, the present invention provides an envelope constructedaround a runway as a function of the installation aircraft stateparameters, including: ground speed, relative orientation, and phase offlight.

According to another aspect of the invention, the present inventionprovides an apparatus, method and computer program product foridentifying one or more runways as a function of state parameterinformation of an aircraft, determining a relationship of the aircraftto an identified runway as a function of the aircraft state parameterinformation, and providing these determinations as advisories withoutexcessive incorrect determinations or nuisance warnings.

According to another aspect of the invention, the present inventionprovides at periodic altitude callouts during landing upon determiningthat the landing has not been completed within specified conditions.Additionally, the present invention provides runway distance remainingcallouts once additional conditions are satisfied.

According to another aspect of the invention, the present inventiondetermines the position of the aircraft relative to the airport andreports the position on a graphical depiction of the airport and itsapproaches. Optionally, the present invention additionally reports avelocity vector of the installation aircraft relative to the airport andits approaches.

According to another aspect of the invention, the present inventionreports the position and optionally the velocity vector of theinstallation aircraft by generating a RF broadcast of the information,and receives such information broadcast by other installations of theinvention. Additionally, the present invention reports the receivedinformation on the graphical depiction of the airport and itsapproaches.

According to another aspect of the invention, the present inventioncompares the own installation aircraft position and velocity vectorinformation with the received information, determines potentialconflicts in the occupation of a runway, and generates advisories of thepotential conflicting situations if not suppressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomesbetter understood by reference to the following detailed description,when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates by example and without limitation an airportsituational awareness apparatus for locating an aircraft with respect toairport taxiways and runways and generating advisories for enhancingpilot situational awareness;

FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate exemplary augmented runway envelopescomputed by one runway selection function of the invention fordetermining a runway of interest as operated by the airport situationalawareness apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein:

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary augmented runway envelopes relative to tworunways for an aircraft taxiing on the ground and heading North at 8knots,

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary augmented runway envelopes relative to thetwo runways shown in FIG. 2 for an aircraft taxiing on the ground andheading East at 8 knots,

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary augmented runway envelopes relative to thetwo runways shown in FIG. 2 for an aircraft taxiing on the ground andheading East at 36 knots, and

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary augmented runway envelopes relative to thetwo runways shown in FIG. 2 for an airborne aircraft on approach forlanding;

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate together an alternative embodiment of runwayselection operated by the airport situational awareness apparatus fordetermining a runway of interest while the aircraft is on the ground,wherein:

FIG. 6 illustrates an augmented runway envelope called a “Bounding Box”according to an alternative an on-ground runway selection function ofthe invention for determining a runway of interest as operated by theairport situational awareness apparatus of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 7 illustrates a Track Deviation function of the alternativeon-ground runway selection function embodied in an exemplary logicdiagram;

FIG. 8 illustrates selectable vertical and horizontal extents of theannunciation envelopes of the invention;

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate by example an alternative advisoryannunciation envelope for use during approach and landing of theaircraft, wherein:

FIG. 9 is a profile view of the alternative annunciation envelope, and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the alternative annunciation envelopeillustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates the algorithms of the invention as operated by theairport situational awareness apparatus of the invention for providingadvisory annunciation of runway identity upon approaching and enteringrunways on-ground;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a flarealtitude monitor of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a generally self-explanatory Table that illustratesformatting of a serial data stream for broadcasting installationaircraft position and, optionally, velocity vector, information;

FIG. 14 is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates the inventionembodied as a computer program product for generating and annunciatingthe airport situational awareness advisories of the invention;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates the inventionembodied as a computer program product for selecting or identifying arunway of interest;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates the inventionembodied as a computer program product for generating flare altitudecallouts of the invention; and

FIG. 17 is an exemplary flow diagram that illustrates the presentinvention embodied as a computer program product for indicating acurrent position of the installation aircraft relative to a selectedairport, and optionally generating the airport situational awarenessadvisories of the invention as a function of potential conflicts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is described more fully hereinafter with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention is, however, embodied in manydifferent equivalent forms and is not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

The present invention is an apparatus, method and computer programproduct for generating and annunciating to the crew an aircraft advisorywith respect to a position of the aircraft relative to airport taxiwaysand runways by selecting a runway and determining a position andorientation of the aircraft relative to the taxiways and runways, bothon the ground during takeoff and landing, and providing pilotsituational awareness of the airport taxiways and runways.

According to a Runway Selection or Identification System (RunwaySelection) portion of the invention, the apparatus, method and computerprogram product determines the airport runway that the installationaircraft is most likely to encounter, whether taxiing, preparing fortake-off, or approaching to land. According to one embodiment of theinvention, the Runway Selection algorithm constructs an envelope aroundthe runway as a function of the installation aircraft state parameters,including: ground speed, heading or track, and phase of flight.

According to a Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) portion ofthe invention, the apparatus, method and computer program productdetermines whether the installation aircraft is “on” a runway and whenit will cross a runway in order to facilitate advising and enhance pilotsituational awareness of airport runways, without generating eitherincorrect determinations or excessive nuisance warnings.

According to an Imminent Landing Situational Awareness (ILSA) portion ofthe invention, during landing the apparatus, method and computer programproduct determines that the landing has not been completed withinspecified conditions, and thereafter provides at a specified intervalperiodic altitude callouts to the nearest foot. Additionally, the ILSAsystem portion of the of the invention provides runway distanceremaining callouts once additional conditions are satisfied.

According to a Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System (APSAS)portion of the invention, the apparatus, method and computer programproduct determines the position of the aircraft relative to the airportand reports the position of the installation aircraft on a graphicaldepiction of the airport and its approaches. The apparatus, method andcomputer program product optionally determines a motion vector of theinstallation aircraft and reports the information on the graphicaldepiction. Furthermore, the APSAS portion of the invention is operatedto generate an RF broadcast of the own aircraft's position and motionvector to other aircraft in the airport vicinity and receive RFbroadcasts of positions and motion vectors from other installationaircraft in the airport vicinity. Upon receipt of the other aircraftpositions and motion vectors, the APSAS portion of the invention isoperated to determine potential conflicts in the occupation of runways,and to annunciate the potential conflicts. Optionally, one or more ofthe other aircraft positions and motion vectors are depicted on thegraphical depiction of the airport and environs. The other aircraftpositions and motion vectors are depicted on the graphical depiction atleast for aircraft having a position and motion vector that creates apotential conflict with the own aircraft. According to another aspect ofthe invention, the RF communications utilized by the APSAS portion ofthe invention overcome problems associated with the use of existing RFcommunication means, such as Mode S transponder, “ADS-B”, or “UAT”, forthis function.

The present invention is an apparatus, method and computer programproduct for determining location of an aircraft with respect to airporttaxiways and runways. The invention operates both on the ground duringtaxiing and take-off and in the air during landing. The inventionselects a runway, and when the is aircraft landing, provides as aural orvisual advisories, information about the aircraft's position relative tothe selected runway. This landing relative position information isoptionally transmitted to other aircraft at the facility, and relativeposition information about other aircraft at the facility is optionallytransmitted to the landing installation aircraft.

When the aircraft is on the ground, the invention determines positionalinformation relative to the taxiways and runways to determine whetherthe aircraft is “on” a runway and when it will cross a runway. Therelative position information is used to facilitate advising and toenhance pilot situational awareness of airport runways, withoutgenerating either incorrect determinations or excessive nuisancewarnings. This on-ground relative position information is optionallytransmitted to other aircraft at the facility, including currentlylanding aircraft, and relative position information about other aircraftat the facility is optionally transmitted to the on-ground installationaircraft.

FIG. 1 illustrates by example and without limitation an airportsituational awareness apparatus for locating an aircraft with respect toairport taxiways and runways and generating advisories for enhancingpilot situational awareness. The apparatus of FIG. 1 additionallytransmits the aircraft's position with respect to airport taxiways andrunways, along with a heading and ground speed vector, to other aircraftin the vicinity and receives the same information from those otheraircraft.

The airport situational awareness apparatus of the invention includes,for example, a processor 10 hosting an Input Processing functional Block12 that is coupled to periodically sample real-time electronic datasignals representative of one or more aircraft state parameters ofinterest, such as latitude and longitude position information; radio,GPS, or barometric altitude; ground speed; track angle; gear setting;horizontal and vertical figures of merit; and one or more other aircraftstate parameters as may be of interest. Such data is available indifferent formats, including ARINC Characteristic 429, ARINCCharacteristic 575, analog, discrete, or an advanced digital format. TheInput Processing Block 12 is structured to accept data in whateverformat the installation aircraft provides. For example, the InputProcessing Block 12 is coupled to an aircraft data bus or anothersuitable means for providing real-time electronic signal data source ofinstrument signals reporting aircraft state parameter information.

The navigation data may be obtained directly from the navigation system,which may include an inertial navigation system (INS), a satellitenavigation receiver such as a global position system (GPS) receiver,VLF/OMEGA, Loran C, VOR/DME or DME/DME, or from a Flight ManagementSystem (FMS).

The Input Processing Block 12 then extracts and validates the aircraftstate parameters of interest, and using this information computesderived parameter values such as “in air” and “geometric altitude” whichis a blended combination of an instantaneous GPS altitude signal and thebarometric altitude signal, as described by Johnson et al. in U.S. Pat.No. 6,216,064, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMNNG ALTITUDE,issued on Apr. 10, 2001, which is owned by the assignee of the presentapplication and the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

The extracted and derived aircraft state parameter values of interest asdiscussed herein are generated as output signals to a Runway SelectionLogic Processing functional Block 14 that is also coupled to receiverunway information as discussed herein from a searchable AirportDatabase 16 of stored airport information that includes data on fixedobstacles (tower, buildings and hangars), taxiways and runways ofinterest, including: airport designator for identifying airport; widthand length values; positions of taxiways; runway survey data, includingrunway center point, runway centerline and both runway endpoints; RunwayPosition Quality information providing a gross estimate in nauticalmiles of position uncertainty of runway and Quality Factor informationproviding fine estimate, for example in feet, of position uncertainty ofrunway; a runway accuracy factor used by an aircraft locating andadvising (Runway Awareness and Advisory System—RAAS) portion of theairport situational awareness; runway elevation; runway true heading indegrees for the end of runway, and runway designator angle based onassigned designation; glideslope angle in degrees for an approach oneither heading, i.e. from either end of the runway; runway designator;transition altitude in feet at the runway location; and runway qualityinformation and terrain quality data within a selected area surroundingthe runway, such as an area of about 15 miles, including highest andlowest elevations; and a survey accuracy factor. These and otherinformation of interest are present as internal signals for operation ofthe airport situational awareness apparatus of the invention.

Internal signals operated on by the algorithms of the Input ProcessingBlock 12 for different portions of the invention include: altitude(“GeoAlt,” in the equations that follow); Ground Speed (“TAGndSpd”); InAir (“InAir”); Latitude (“TALatude”); Longitude (“TALngude”); and TrueTrack (“TATruTrk”).

The Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 may include features ofU.S. Pat. No. 6,304,800, entitled AUTOMATED RUNWAY SELECTION, issued toYasuo Ishihara, et al. on Oct. 16, 2001, which is owned by the assigneeof the present application and the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

However, in relation to the description of the various embodiments ofthe present invention provided in detail below, it must be understoodthat aspects of the present invention can be used with any system thatuses stored information concerning runways for runway selection. As thisdisclosure is for illustrative purposes only, the scope of the presentinvention should not be limited to the systems described below, as theconcepts and designs described below may be implemented in any type ofsystem that uses runway information for runway selection.

The Runway Selection Logic processing Block 14 also includes additionalfeatures and generates output signals as described herein.

The output signals generated by both the Input Processing Block 12 andthe Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 are inputs to an AdvisoryCondition Detection Processing functional Block 18 that operates logicfor detecting, as a function of these inputs, different conditions thatresult in the advisories of this invention. As a result of detecting oneor more of the different conditions discussed herein, the AdvisoryCondition Detection Processing Block 18 generates output signals thatstimulate an Aural Advising Processing functional Block 20 that includesprocessing for aural advisory generation and prioritization and outputsan aural advisory signal to an audio device 22 such as a cockpitspeaker, headset or equivalent cockpit audio system.

The aircraft locating and advising portion of the airport situationalawareness apparatus of the invention optionally includes a VisualAdvising Processing functional Block 24 that generates video outputsignals to a cockpit display device 26 that result in display either orboth of textual and pictographic information indicative of status andadvisories.

Optional Communications Hardware 28 feeds data signals to an OtherAircraft Data Tracking Processing functional Block 30. If present, thiscombination of Communications Hardware 28 and Processing Block 30transmits changes in the status of the installation aircraft to otheraircraft in the vicinity; receives such transmissions from otheraircraft and tracks the received data; and supplies the received data tothe Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18 to support advisorygeneration.

Runway Selection Logic

According to one embodiment of the invention, the Runway Selection LogicProcessing Block 14 operates the runway selection function described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,304,800 for determining a runway of interest.Accordingly, when operated in conformity with U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,800,the Runway Selection Logic Processing of block 14 operates a computerprogram product for predicting which one of at least two candidaterunways on which an aircraft is most likely to land, such that dataconcerning the predicted runway may be used by ground proximity warningsystems. The Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 receives datapertaining to an aircraft and from the Runway Database 16 receives datapertaining to at least two candidate runways in close proximity to theaircraft. Based on this data, the Runway Selection Logic ProcessingBlock 14 determines a reference deviation angle between the aircraft andeach candidate runway. This reference deviation angle may represent abearing, track, or glideslope deviation angle between the aircraft andeach candidate runway. The Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14further evaluates each of the reference deviation angles and predictswhich of the candidate runways the aircraft is most likely to land. Forexample, according to one embodiment of the runway selection functiondescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,800, the Runway Selection LogicProcessing Block 14 compares the reference deviation angle valueassociated with each candidate runway to the reference deviation angleassociated with the other candidate runways. In another embodiment, theRunway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 may compare the referenceangle deviation value associated with each candidate runway to anempirical likelihood model representing the likelihood that the aircraftis landing on the candidate runway based on the reference deviationangle. In this embodiment, the Runway Selection Logic Processing Block14 evaluates the likelihood value generated for each candidate runwayand predicts which runway the aircraft is most likely to land. Inanother embodiment of the runway selection function described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,304,800, the Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 maypredict the runway based on a combination of likelihood values for eachcandidate runway, i.e., bearing, track, and glideslope likelihood.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the Runway SelectionLogic Processing Block 14 operates one of the runway selection functionsdescribed herein.

For example, according to one embodiment of the Runway Selection Logicdetermination for any runway is a surrounding envelope that is augmentedas a function of the installation aircraft's heading and ground speed.The augmentation function expands the runway envelope as a function ofan aircraft direction vector having a magnitude that includes a fixedamount, an amount proportional to the width of the runway, and an amountproportional to the installation aircraft's ground speed in excess of athreshold. The direction of the augmentation expansion is opposite tothe aircraft heading. The runway envelope is expanded by theaugmentation function parallel to the runway such that the augmentedrunway envelope always contains at least the actual runway extents.

FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate exemplary augmented RAAS runway envelopescomputed by one alternative runway selection function for determining arunway of interest as operated by the Runway Selection Logic ProcessingBlock 14. Accordingly, the runway selection function determines a runwayenvelope that at a minimum includes the runway width and length extentswith the runway envelope being further augmented as a function of theaircraft heading and ground speed. The augmentation portion of therunway selection function is accordingly operated to adjust the runwayenvelope relative to an augmentation expansion having an expansionmagnitude that is a combination of a fixed amount, an amountproportional to the width of the runway, and an amount proportional tothe aircraft ground speed in excess of a ground speed threshold. Therunway envelope is adjusted by the amount of the augmentation expansionin a direction opposite to the aircraft heading direction.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the augmented RAAS runwayenvelope is constructed by computing a Ground Speed Offset value that isan amount proportional to the aircraft ground speed. The Ground SpeedOffset is computed according to the formula:Ground Speed Offset=Period of Prediction(in seconds)*Ground Speed inexcess of Ground Speed Threshold.Augmented RAAS On Ground Runway Selection Envelope

While the aircraft is on the ground the augmented RAAS runway envelopeis computed according to the formulae:Augmentation Expansion Length=Width Offset+Fixed Offset+Ground SpeedOffset;Augmentation Expansion Direction=180−Heading(in degrees);Box Width Component=cosine (Aircraft Heading−RunwayHeading)*Augmentation Expansion Length; andBox Length Component=sine (Aircraft Heading−Runway Heading)*AugmentationExpansion Length,

where according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, nominalinput values are given by the following, but may be selected to havedifferent values:

-   -   Width Offset=Width of Runway;    -   Fixed Offset=25 feet;    -   Ground Speed Threshold=10 knots; and    -   Period of Prediction=4 seconds.

The resulting runway envelope has a shape and a relation to the runwaycenterline, both of which are dependent upon the aircraft directionvector and aircraft ground speed in excess of a threshold ground speed,but are not necessarily dependent on the aircraft location relative tothe runway.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary augmented RAAS runway envelopes relative tofour runways, RWY 16R/34L and RWY 11/29, for an aircraft on the groundand heading North at 8 knots. As illustrated, the length and widthextents of the two runways RWY 16R/34L are represented by a pair ofnarrow, spaced apart lines with a centerline. The augmentation portionof the runway selection function provides an augmented portion 32 of therunways RWY 16R/34L that is illustrated as dashed lines bordering therunway on all sides. The Ground Speed Offset value relative to runwaysRWY 16R/34L is computed as described above using the aircraft speed of 8knots. Augmentation Expansion Length is computed as the abovecombination of Width Offset, Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset.

The Augmentation Expansion Direction is aligned with the North-Southaligned runways RWY 16R/34L, but is opposite in direction to the Northheading of the aircraft.

The Box Width component of the augmented portion 32 is equal to theproduct of the cosine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Headingtimes the Augmentation Expansion Length.

The Box Length Component of the augmented portion 32 is equal to theproduct of the sine of the Aircraft Heading (in degrees) less the RunwayHeading (in degrees) times the Augmentation Expansion Length.

The resulting runway envelope, represented here by the augmented portion32, has a shape similar to but larger than the actual runway outlinethat is aligned to the runway centerline and is offset relative torunways RWY 16R/34L in the Augmentation Expansion Direction.

The length and width extents of the two crosswise runways RWY 11/29 areillustrated as a single thick solid line that includes its centerline.The augmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 34 of the runways RWY 11/29 that is illustrated asthin solid lines bordering the runways on the south side and both ends.The Ground Speed Offset value relative to runways RWY 11/29 is computedas described above using the aircraft speed of 8 knots. AugmentationExpansion Length is computed as the above combination of Width Offset,Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset; where Width Offset is nominally equalto the actual width of the runway but maybe selected differently.

The Augmentation Expansion Direction is again South opposite indirection to the North heading of the aircraft and therefore crosswiseto north-west by south-east direction of runways RWY 11/29.

The Box Width component of the augmented portion 34 is equal to theproduct of the cosine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Headingtimes the Augmentation Expansion Length.

The Box Length Component of the augmented portion 34 is equal to theproduct of the sine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Headingtimes the Augmentation Expansion Length.

The resulting runway envelope, represented here by the augmented portion34, has a shape that is similar to but larger than the actual runwayoutline and is offset relative to runways RWY 11/29 in the AugmentationExpansion Direction.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary augmented RAAS runway envelopes relative tothe four runways shown in FIG. 2, RWY 16R/34L and RWY 11/29, for anaircraft on the ground but on an East heading at 8 knots. Theaugmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 36 of the runways RWY 16R/34L that is againillustrated as dashed lines bordering the runway on all sides. TheGround Speed Offset value relative to runways RWY 16R/34L is computed asdescribed above again using the aircraft speed of 8 knots. AugmentationExpansion Length is again computed as the above combination of WidthOffset, Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset. The Augmentation ExpansionDirection is oriented across the North-South runways RWY 16R/34Lopposite in direction to the East heading of the aircraft. The Box Widthcomponent of the augmented portion 36 is equal to the product of thecosine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Heading times theAugmentation Expansion Length. The Box Length Component of the augmentedportion 36 is equal to the product of the sine of the Aircraft Headingless the Runway Heading times the Augmentation Expansion Length. Theresulting runway envelope, represented here by the augmented portion 36,has a shape similar to but larger than the actual runway outline that isoffset in the Augmentation Expansion Direction relative to the runwaycenterline but is substantially aligned relative to the North-Southlength extents of runways RWY 16R/34L.

The augmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 38 of the runways RWY 11/29 that is illustrated asthin solid lines bordering the runway on the eastward side and end. TheGround Speed Offset value relative to runways RWY 11/29 is computed asdescribed above again using the aircraft speed of 8 knots. AugmentationExpansion Length is computed as the above combination of Width Offset,Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset. The Augmentation Expansion Directionis opposite in direction to the East heading of the aircraft andtherefore crosswise to NW by SE runways RWY 11/29. The Box Widthcomponent of the augmented portion 38 is equal to the product of thecosine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Heading times theAugmentation Expansion Length. The Box Length Component of the augmentedportion 38 is equal to the product of the sine of the Aircraft Headingless the Runway Heading times the Augmentation Expansion Length. Theresulting runway envelope, represented here by the augmented portion 38,has a shape that is similar to but larger than the actual runway outlineand is offset relative to runways RWY 11/29 in the AugmentationExpansion Direction.

FIG. 4 also illustrates exemplary augmented RAAS runway envelopesrelative to the four runways shown in FIG. 2, RWY 16R/34L and RWY 11/29,but for an aircraft on the ground heading East at 36 knots. Theaugmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 40 of the runways RWY 16R/34L that is againillustrated as dashed lines bordering the runway on all sides. TheGround Speed Offset value relative to runways RWY 16R/34L is computed asdescribed above using the greater aircraft speed of 36 knots.Augmentation Expansion Length is again computed as the above combinationof Width Offset, Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset. The AugmentationExpansion Length is longer than in the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3 becauseof the greater aircraft ground speed. The Augmentation ExpansionDirection is again aligned across the North-South runways RWY 16R/34L inopposite direction to the East heading of the aircraft. The Box Widthcomponent of the augmented portion 40 is equal to the product of thecosine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Heading times theAugmentation Expansion Length. The Box Width component is larger than inthe examples of FIGS. 2 and 3 because of the greater aircraft speed. TheBox Length Component of the augmented portion 40 is equal to the productof the sine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Heading times theAugmentation Expansion Length. The resulting runway envelope,represented here by the augmented portion 40, has a shape similar to butlarger than the actual runway outline that is offset in the WestAugmentation Expansion Direction relative to the runway centerline, butis aligned relative to the North-South length extents of runways RWY16R/34L.

The augmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 42 of the two runways RWY 11/29 that is illustrated asthin solid lines bordering the runway on the eastward side and end. TheGround Speed Offset value relative to runways RWY 11/29 is computed asdescribed above using the greater aircraft speed of 36 knots.Augmentation Expansion Length is computed as the above combination ofWidth Offset, Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Offset. The AugmentationExpansion Direction is opposite in direction to the East heading of theaircraft and therefore crosswise to NW by SE direction of runways RWY11/29. The Box Width component of the augmented portion 42 is equal tothe product of the cosine of the Aircraft Heading less the RunwayHeading times the Augmentation Expansion Length. The Box LengthComponent of the augmented portion 42 is equal to the product of thesine of the Aircraft Heading less the Runway Heading times theAugmentation Expansion Length. The resulting runway envelope,represented here by the augmented portion 42, has a shape that issimilar to but larger than the actual runway outline and is offsetrelative to runways RWY 11/29 in the West Augmentation ExpansionDirection.

FIG. 5 illustrates the Runway Selection Logic of the invention asoperated by the Runway Selection Logic Processing Block 14 fordetermining an exemplary augmented RAAS runway of interest for anairborne aircraft on approach. This embodiment of the Runway SelectionLogic of the invention operates a novel algorithm for determining arunway envelope that at a minimum includes the runway width and lengthextents with the runway envelope being further augmented as a functionof the aircraft heading and ground speed.

By example and without limitation, for an aircraft on approach, the BoxWidth is a function of a width multiplier times the width of the runwayof interest. The Box Width is further augmented by the Box WidthComponent if the Box Width Component is a positive value, i.e. ifincluding the Box Width Component increases the Box Width value. BoxWidth is thus given by:Box Width=Kwidth*Width+Positive Box Width Component.

Similarly, the Box Length is a function of a length multiplier times thelength of the runway of interest. The Box Length is further augmented bythe Box Length Component if the Box Length Component is a positivevalue, i.e. if including the Box Length Component increases the BoxLength value. Box Length is thus given by:Box Length=Klength*Length+Positive Box Length Component.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the inputs to the RunwaySelection Logic for an aircraft on approach are given by the followingbut may be selected to have different values:

-   -   Box Width Component=250 feet;    -   Box Length Component=1.8 nautical miles;    -   Kwidth=Lwidth=0.5; and

Width Offset, Fixed Offset, Ground Speed Threshold, and Period ofPrediction have the values given herein.

The Box Length Component of the Runway Selection Logic of the inventionthus generates, as part of the augmented RAAS runway annunciationenvelope 44 respective volumes of airspace 48, 50, at the end of therunway for aircraft on approach. Similar volumes of airspace 52, 54 aregenerated by the augmented RAAS runway annunciation envelope 46.

Alternatively, the Box Length Component of the RAAS advisoryannunciation envelope for an airborne aircraft on approach is computedas a function of the aircraft ground speed.

In FIG. 5 exemplary augmented RAAS runway envelopes are illustrated foran airborne aircraft on approach relative to the four runways, RWY16R/34L and RWY 11/29. The length and width extents of the two runwaysRWY 16R/34L are again illustrated as a pair of narrow, spaced apartlines with a centerline and beginning and ending extents. Theaugmentation portion of the runway selection function provides anaugmented portion 44 of the runways RWY 16R/34L that is illustrated asdashed lines bordering the runway on the long sides only. The Box Widthvalue relative to runways RWY 16R/34L is computed as described above.Box Length is computed as described above. The Box Width and Box Lengthvalues for the second two runways RWY 11/29 are similarly computedaccording to the algorithm and result in an augmented portion 46 that isillustrated as thin solid lines bordering the runway on the long sidesonly.

The resulting augmented runway envelopes, represented here by theaugmented portions 44 and 46, have shapes that are similar to but widerand much longer than the actual runway outlines. The resulting runwayenvelopes are aligned with the four runways RWY 16R/34L and RWY 11/29and extend beyond the ends of the runways in both directions.

Accordingly, when the aircraft is within the augmented RAAS runwayenvelope for a runway, the Runway Selection Logic selects the runway,determines the identification of the selected runway, and provides asignal representative of the runway identity.

Alternate Embodiment of Runway Selection Logic

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the RunwaySelection Logic that is provided for operation by the Runway SelectionLogic Processing Block 14 for determining the runway of interest whilethe aircraft is on the ground. This alternative embodiment of the RunwaySelection Logic includes a novel algorithm for scanning an existingarray of 2, 4, 24 or more closest runways and selecting the one runwaycurrently being approached or entered. The algorithm for scanning thearray of closest runways and selecting the runway being approached orentered includes three components. One component of the algorithm is afunction for computation of an envelope 80 called a “Bounding Box” thatis illustrated in FIG. 6. The envelope or Bounding Box function uses twoopposing runway endpoints, EP1 and EP2, of a runway for defining a linesegment representing the length along the runway centerline 82. Therunway width relative to this line segment, i.e. the runway centerline82, is stored as runway information in a database of runway information,such as the Airport Database 16 shown in FIG. 1. A pair quality factorsQF1 and QF2 defining the estimated position uncertainty of the endpointsEP1, EP2 are also stored as runway information in the database. TheBounding Box function uses these data for defining two rectangles, asshown in FIG. 6. An inner rectangle 84 is defined by the width andlength of the runway, and the outer rectangle is the Bounding Box 80 asdefined by the width and length of the runway enlarged by the qualityfactors QF1 and QF2, respectively. The quality factors QF1 and QF2 areoptionally constants selected to be substantially identical.

A second component of the algorithm for scanning the array of closestrunways and selecting the runway is a “Velocity Lead Term” computationfunction. Rather than trigger on aircraft current position, which canintroduce undesirable system lags, the Velocity Lead Term is computedfrom Ground Speed and True Track data as position of the aircraft ashort time into the future. For example, the Velocity Lead Term iscomputed as the position of the aircraft a few seconds, e.g. 2-3seconds, into the future. The Velocity Lead Term is thus present toprovide the flight crew sufficient time to respond to an indication thatthe runway has been selected.

A third component of the algorithm for scanning the array of closestrunways and selecting the runway is a “Track Deviation” function that isused to reduce false or nuisance callouts while taxiing on a taxiwayparallel to a runway. The Track Deviation function is operated by theprocessor 10 to select a parallel runway only under two conditions: ifthe aircraft current position is within the inner rectangle 84 shown inFIG. 6, i.e. the actual boundary of the runway; and if the angle betweenthe aircraft track and the runway centerline is greater than a selectedangle, commonly referred to as “right angle intersection.” According toone embodiment of the invention, the selected right angle intersectionis about 15 degrees. When the aircraft's ground speed falls below athreshold speed, such as 5 knots, the second right angle intersectionterm drops out and is neither computed nor used to control operation ofthe Track Deviation function.

FIG. 7 illustrates the Track Deviation function of the alternativeon-ground Runway Selection Logic embodied in an exemplary logic diagram90. According to the Track Deviation function as illustrated in FIG. 7,for each entry in the array of two or more closest runways, an “OnRunway (local)” term is computed and output.

Accordingly, the “On Runway (local)” is TRUE for all runways thatsatisfy the following criteria: (1) the absolute value of the aircraftaltitude or “Height Above Runway” is less than a selected value thatindicates the aircraft is on the ground, such as 300 feet; (2) theaircraft current position is within the inner boundary of the runway 80,shown in FIG. 6, as determined by: (a) the absolute value of a CrossTrack Distance relative to the inner boundary of the runway 80 is lessthan a pre-selected Position Uncertainty Constant (K); (b) if an AlongTrack Distance relative to the inner boundary of the runway 80 is lessthan a minimum value, such as 0 nautical miles (where the along-trackdistance is a signed number that positive on approach to the runwaythreshold and negative between the two endpoints of runway and having amaximum negative value at the midpoint of the runway so that a minimumvalue of 0 nautical miles indicates that the aircraft has crossed thethreshold onto the runway), and the absolute value of the Along TrackDistance is also less than half of the runway length; and (c) the AlongTrack Distance is less than the pre-selected Position UncertaintyConstant (K); and (3) the angle between the aircraft track and therunway centerline 82 is greater than the right angle intersection, asdetermined by the True Track Deviation, i.e. the selected right angleintersection, being between limits selected to indicate approximateparallelism with the runway 80 and the runway centerline 82, such as+/−15 degrees. For all entries where “On Runway (local)” is TRUE, thisalternative on-ground Runway Selection Logic modifies its output as afunction of the number of runway entries marked. Therefore, if noentries are marked, an “OnRwyTaxi” flag is FALSE, else TRUE. If ratherexactly one entry is marked, that one entry is selected as the taxirunway (TRwy). However, if multiple entries are marked, the entry havingthe smallest track deviation in absolute magnitude is selected.

Data published by the Track Deviation function for the Taxi Runwayincludes: Along Track Distance to Taxi Runway, Cross Track Distance toTaxi, Taxi Runway True Track Deviation Runway, Taxi Airport Designator,Taxi Runway Designator as the angle and character (if any), Taxi RunwayHalf-Length, Taxi Runway, Taxi Runway Heading, and Taxi Runway Elevationfrom the Airport Database 16 with the units shown in feet.

Advisory Condition Detection and Annunciation

The Advisory Condition Detection Processing functional Block 18, shownin FIG. 1, operates logic for detecting different conditions that resultin situational awareness advisories. The Advisory Condition Detectionprocessing is further broken down into several different advisingsystems, including the Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) ofthe invention, the Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System(APSAS) of the invention, and the Imminent Landing Situational Awareness(ILSA) of the invention.

Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS)

Approaching Runway Awareness Call-Out and Display

Landing and take-off from the incorrect runway currently account forapproximately 15 percent of runway incursions. The apparatus, method andcomputer program product of the Runway Awareness and Advisory System(RAAS) portion of the invention addresses these problems by providingadvisory annunciations as described herein to enhance pilot situationalawareness. For landing and on-ground aircraft, the RAAS constructsadvisory annunciation envelopes within which the situational awarenessannunciations are announced are described herein and illustrated byexample in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The envelope 80 or Bounding Boxillustrated by example in FIG. 6 is alternatively used in operation ofthe RAAS portion of the invention.

The RAAS generates only three situational awareness advisories in anormal course of events: a runway approach advisory is annunciatedduring approach, an approaching runway advisory is annunciated when theaircraft approaches a runway during taxiing on the ground, and anentering runway advisory is annunciated when the aircraft enters arunway on the ground. Other advisories may be annunciated underconditions described herein.

The apparatus, method and computer program product of the RunwayAwareness and Advising System (RAAS) portion of the invention addressesthis problem of landing on the incorrect runway by providing one or bothof an aural and a visual annunciation of the runway that the aircraft isaligned with during the approach. This annunciation enhances pilotsituational awareness much in the same way as current altitude call-outson final approach.

The pilot interface for the RAAS approaching runway annunciation isnominally provided as an aural advisory call-out announced over thecockpit speaker system, such as the cockpit audio device 22 shown inFIG. 1. For example, one embodiment of a RAAS advisory annunciation forthe approaching runway is given as, “Approaching runway XXX,” or“Approaching XXX,” where “XXX” is the runway designator. Either inaddition to or as an alternative to the aural annunciation, a visualannunciation of the approaching runway advisory is provided on a displaysurface located within the flight deck, such as the cockpit displaydevice 26 shown in FIG. 1. For example, the text “RWY XXX,” or“Approaching RWY XXX” is provided on the cockpit display device 26.

The approaching runway annunciation is initiated only after the runwayselection algorithm has established the most likely landing runway,determined that the aircraft has entered into the volume of airspace atthe end of the runway established by the RAAS annunciation envelope, anddetermined that the aircraft is in the approach phase of flight.

Accordingly, the algorithms of the invention are operated as a functionof determining: an aircraft state, ie. current position and angularorientation; a current phase of flight; and a position of the mostlikely landing runway.

Current aircraft position is determined by the use of navigation aids,such as GPS, to obtain current latitude and longitude. Current track orheading serves as aircraft orientation. Phase of flight determinationuses aircraft sensor inputs such as: gear positions which is optionallyused to determine if the aircraft is in approach/landing configuration;height above destination airfield which can be determined usingcorrected barometric altitude and airfield elevation; and distance fromdestination airfield or the selected runway.

Alternatively, the invention uses the output of a ground proximitywarning system. Such systems have been developed that evaluate theproximity of the aircraft to an airport and the flight altitude of theaircraft above the runway to determine if the aircraft is entering alanding procedure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,080, entitledTERRAIN AWARENESS SYSTEM, which is assigned to the assignee of thepresent application, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference, describes a ground proximity warning system thatprovides several advantages as it does not require the monitoring oflanding gears and flaps, but instead monitors the positionalrelationship between the airport and the aircraft. The ground proximitywarning system monitors the altitude of the aircraft in relation to therunway closest to the aircraft. If the aircraft approaches the runwaywithin a predetermined distance range and within a predeterminedaltitude range, the ground proximity warning system determines that theaircraft is entering a landing procedure. During the landing procedure,the ground proximity warning system creates a terrain floor surroundingthe runway. As detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,080, the terrain floorrepresents minimum altitudes required by the aircraft at certaindistances from the runway in order to safely approach the runwayaccording to conventional landing procedures. Additionally, the terrainfloor includes an area immediately adjacent to the runway where thealarms of the ground proximity warning system are not generated, suchthat the ground proximity warning system does not generate nuisancealarms during the final approach of the aircraft to the runway.

According to one embodiment of the invention, when the aircraft is inapproach mode, a search algorithm establishes the position of the mostlikely landing runway as a function of the current aircraft position andthe runway information retrieved from the Airport Database 16, shown inFIG. 1.

As described in FIG. 5, the RAAS annunciation envelope 44 establishes avolume of airspace relative to the end of the selected runway, forexample, runway RWY 16R/34L. During approach and landing, the RAASportion of the Runway Selection Logic establishes the runway selectionby determining that the aircraft track or heading align with the runwaycenterline within a pre-selected angle for a sufficiently long period toestablish that the aircraft is aligned with the runway. The alignmentfactor helps to establish that the aircraft is approaching the runway,rather than turning through an angle that momentarily coincides therunway. For example, if the aircraft track or heading align with therunway centerline within about ±15 degrees to about ±20 degrees for aselected period, the Runway Selection Logic establishes that theaircraft is approaching the runway for landing. After the runwayselection algorithm has established the most likely landing runway,determined that the aircraft has entered into the volume of airspace atthe end of the runway established by the RAAS annunciation envelope, anddetermined that the aircraft is in the approach phase of flight, anapproaching runway annunciation is initiated. The RAAS advisoryannunciation on approach is suppressed until all three conditions aresatisfied. According to one embodiment of the invention, the RAAScontinues to suppress the approach advisory annunciation until anadditional minimum height above runway condition is satisfied. Theminimum height above runway condition establishes a vertical limit abovethe runway above which the runway approach advisory annunciation issuppressed. This additional minimum height above runway condition goesto establishing that the aircraft is landing, rather than over-flyingthe runway.

The minimum height above runway condition is optionally included as afactor in the RAAS annunciation envelope generated according to FIGS.2-5, whereby a vertical limit above the runway is established for theaugmented volume of airspace surrounding the runway.

FIG. 8 illustrates by example and without limitation an optionalselectable vertical height above runway limitation for the RAASannunciation envelope to establish approach and landing of the aircraft.FIG. 8 illustrates selectable vertical and horizontal extents of theannunciation envelopes illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 and the alternativeannunciation envelopes illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. After the runwayselection algorithm has determined that the three conditions forinitiating an approaching runway annunciation have been satisfied, theaircraft is in the approach phase of flight, has established the mostlikely landing runway, and has the runway approach annunciation envelopeis generated at an appropriate point in the approach. The runwayapproach annunciation envelope is the volume of airspace generatedrelative to the end of the runway. The approaching runway annunciationis initiated upon entry of the aircraft into that envelope.

The RAAS advisory annunciation envelope for an airborne aircraft onapproach is also suppressed until the aircraft is within the lengthwiseextent Y of the augmented RAAS runway envelope as given by the BoxLength Component, as shown in FIG. 8 and discussed herein.Alternatively, the lengthwise extent Y of the augmented RAAS runwayenvelope for an airborne aircraft on approach is computed as a functionof the aircraft ground speed.

The minimum height above runway condition is established according tovertical extents of the annunciation envelope 100 having an upperheight, UP, above the selected runway such that the aircraft 102 isreasonably expected to land, rather than over-flying the airport. Forexample, the RAAS advisory annunciations are suppressed for an aircraftabove a reasonable height above the runway, the upper height having byexample a nominal value of about 700 to 800 feet above the selectedrunway elevation.

The vertical extents of the RAAS advisory annunciation envelope 100 arelimited to lower height, LOW, relative to the selected runway such thatthe RAAS advisory call-outs do not interfere with other aural advisoriesduring critical phases of landing. By example and without limitation,the RAAS advisory annunciations are suppressed for heights below 300feet above the selected runway elevation so that the RAAS advisories donot interfere with normal Height Above Field call-outs.

For the same reasons, the RAAS advisory annunciation envelope 100include a suppression zone having upper and lower vertical extents,S_(UP) and S_(LOW), above and below a normal intermediary Height AboveField call-out. For example, the upper and lower vertical extents,S_(UP) and S_(LOW), are selected to avoid interference with either a 400foot Height Above Field call-out or a normal 500 foot Height Above Fieldcall-out. By example and without limitation, the upper and lowervertical extents of the suppression zone are nominally selected as 550feet and 450 feet, respectively, above the selected runway elevation soas to not interfere with a normal 500 foot Height Above Field call-out.Alternatively, the upper and lower vertical extents of the suppressionzone are nominally selected as 450 feet and 350 feet, respectively,above the selected runway elevation so as to not interfere with a 400foot Height Above Field call-out.

Optionally, one or more of the vertical extents of the RAAS advisoryannunciation envelope 100 are disabled so as to not interfere withnormal Height Above Field call-outs.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate by example an alternative RAAS advisoryannunciation envelope 200 for use during approach and landing of theaircraft. After the runway selection algorithm has determined that theaircraft is in the approach phase of flight and has established the mostlikely landing runway, the runway approach annunciation envelope 200 isgenerated at an appropriate point in the approach. The annunciationenvelope 200 is a volume of airspace generated relative to the end ofthe runway. An approaching runway annunciation is initiated upon entryof the aircraft into that envelope.

FIG. 9 is a profile view of the alternative annunciation envelope 200generated according to one embodiment of the invention. The annunciationenvelope 200 includes upper and lower glide paths 202 and 204,respectively, defined by respective upper and lower angular limits,Φ_(UP) and Φ_(LO), that ensure the aircraft 206 is within anoperationally acceptable range of glides slopes. For example, a veryshallow glide slope in the range of 1 degree can increase collision riskclose to the ground. Nominal upper and lower glide path angular limitsare about 15 degrees and 2 degrees, respectively. In cases of prematuredescent on approach the lower limit is also compatible with protectionprovided by known terrain awareness and warning systems, such as theEnhanced Ground Proximity Warning System® (EGPWS) available fromHoneywell International, Incorporated of Redmond, Washington, thatprovide terrain avoidance protection for aircraft in the en-route andterminal environments.

Terrain avoidance protection always has priority over the runwayannunciation advisories generated by the present invention. For example,near the runway, the runway approach annunciation envelope of theinvention is modulated by a surface A-B-C that accounts foruncertainties, such as onboard instrument errors, errors associatedrunway survey data, and other uncertainties, by inhibiting annunciationif the aircraft is within the surface A-B-C. The inhibiting surfaceA-B-C is extended beyond the end of the most likely landing runway 208along the approach path by a length extension, X_(LE), having by examplea nominal value of 0.5 miles. The inhibiting surface A-B-C is extendedabove and below the surface of runway 208 by a vertical margin, Z_(VM),having by example a nominal value of about 100 feet. The annunciationenvelope 200 is generated having a vertical limit, Z, that is selectedhaving a elevation such as the “Height Above Field” or radio altitude.The vertical limit Z determines the vertical elevation below which therunway annunciation function is active. According to one embodiment ofthe invention, a nominal value for the vertical limit Z is by examplefive hundred feet Radio Altitude.

Horizontal limits, X_(UP) and X_(LO), for the respective upper and lowerglide paths 202, 204 are calculated according to:X=Z/Tan(Φ),where: Φis Φ_(UP) and Φ_(LO) for respective upper and lower glide paths202, 204.

The glide path angular limits, horizontal limits, vertical limit,vertical margin and length extension describe the profile of theannunciation envelope.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the alternative annunciation envelope 200described in FIG. 9. The annunciation envelope is described in plan viewby a horizontal limit X having by example a nominal value the same asthe limit X_(LO) selected for the lower glide path 204, as illustratedin FIG. 9, and an angle β subtended between an extended runwaycenterline, CL, and each edge, 210 a and 210 b, of envelope 200.According to one embodiment of the invention, the angle β is by examplenominally about 15 degrees.

An inhibiting surface D-E-F provides modulation of the plan viewenvelope for reasons similar to those discussed for the surface A-B-C inconnection with the profile view illustrated in FIG. 9. The inhibitingsurface D-E-F is extended beyond the end of the most likely landingrunway 208 along the approach path by the length extension, X_(LE),shown in FIG. 9 and having by example a nominal value of 0.5 miles. Theinhibiting surface D-E-F is extended on either side of the runway 208 bya horizontal margin, Y_(ML), that is referenced to the runway centerlineC_(L). According to one embodiment of the invention, the horizontalmargin Y_(ML) is a constant having by example a nominal value of about50 feet.

The height above runway suppression zones described in FIG. 8 for theRAAS advisory annunciation envelope are optionally applied to theannunciation envelope 200 described in FIGS. 9 and 10.

On-Ground Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS)

In a normal course of events, the Runway Awareness and Advisory System(RAAS) of the invention are also are operated for determining anaircraft's position relative to taxiways and runways during taxiing onthe ground. The RAAS thereby provide situational awareness advisoriesthat facilitate advising and enhance pilot airport situational awarenessduring taxiing, without generating either incorrect determinations orexcessive nuisance warnings. The RAAS algorithms determine when theaircraft will cross a runway and whether the aircraft is “on” therunway. Accordingly, in a normal course of events the RAAS provides bothan on-ground approaching runway advisory and an on-ground enteringrunway advisory. The on-ground approaching runway advisory isannunciated when the aircraft approaches a runway during taxiing, andthe on-ground entering runway advisory is annunciated when the aircraftenters a runway during taxiing.

For example, the RAAS determines that the aircraft will cross a runwayand provides the on-ground runway approach advisory, “Approaching runwayXXX,” or “Approaching XXX,” where “XXX” is the runway designator. Inanother example, the RAAS determines that the aircraft is “on” therunway and provides the on-ground runway entry advisory, “On runwayXXX,” or “On XXX,” where “XXX” is again the runway designator. The RAASportion of the invention thus provides only advisories, rather thanwarnings. The advisories are distinguished from warnings in thatadvisories provide only airport situational awareness information; theydo not require any action on the part of the pilot or flight crew.

Imminent Taxiway Take-Off Annunciation

A number of runway incursions have arisen as a result of inadvertenttake-off on a taxiway. In most of these instances poor pilot situationalawareness was a major factor, especially in situations where the taxiwaywas parallel to the runway. Accordingly, the apparatus, method andcomputer program product of the invention is operated to provide theflight crew with one or both of an aural advisory call-out and a visualannunciation of an imminent taxiway take-off This latter problem isaddressed by the apparatus, method and computer program product of theinvention for determining location of an aircraft with respect toairport taxiways and runways as a function of the runway selection logicdescribed herein, and in particular to the RAAS advisory annunciationenvelopes described herein.

As described herein, the RAAS advisory annunciation algorithms of theinvention that provide this added pilot awareness of aircraft locationwith respect to taxiways and runways are operated as a function ofaircraft latitude and longitude position information; aircraftgroundspeed and aircraft heading; and pertinent runway data, such asposition of runway ends and heading, as retrieved from the on-boardsearchable Airport Database 16 of taxiway and runway information.

The Annunciation Criteria may vary depending upon the specificimplementation of the advising algorithm operated by the AdvisoryCondition Detection Processing Block 18 (shown in FIG. 1). Howevernominally, unless the aircraft is both on a runway and aligned with it,and groundspeed is greater than a threshold ground speed, by examplenominally selected as about 40-60 knots, on-ground advisories arepresented to the pilot, as described herein, as either or both of anaural and a visual advisory.

The pilot interface is nominally provided as an aural advisory call-outannounced over the cockpit speaker system, such as the cockpit audiodevice 22 shown in FIG. 1. For example, one embodiment of an auraladvisory call-out for a taxiway take-off annunciation is the advisory,“On taxiway, on taxiway.” Either in addition to or as an alternative tothe aural annunciation, a visual annunciation of the “On taxiway”advisory is provided on a display surface located within the flightdeck, such as the cockpit display device 26 shown in FIG. 1.

Accurate survey data as regards airport taxiways are unavailable orprohibitively expensive. The Airport Database 16 therefore may lackcomplete and accurate taxiway survey data. For at least these reasons,the RAAS advisory annunciation algorithms optionally designates astaxiway all airport terrain that is not identified as runway in theAirport Database 16. Therefore, the RAAS advisory annunciationalgorithms result in an on-taxiway advisory during operation of theaircraft that satisfies the groundspeed conditions, unless the RunwaySelection algorithms determine the aircraft is both on a designatedrunway and aligned with it.

Runway Entry Broadcast/Advisory

FIG. 11 illustrates the algorithms of the RAAS portion of the inventionas operated by the Aural/Visual Advisory Condition Detection Processingfunction of the invention to provide the crew aural and optional visualannunciation of runway identity upon approaching and entering a runwayon-ground. The illustration shown in FIG. 11 is a technologydemonstrator that provides exemplary illustrations of trigger points forthe functions of the RAAS portion of the invention for locating anaircraft with respect to airport taxiways and runways and generatingadvisories for enhancing pilot situational awareness.

By example and without limitation, FIG. 11 illustrates a path 300 of anon-ground aircraft 302 entering a taxiway 304 and traveling along ittoward the runways RWY 16/34, designated here by reference numeral 306.As discussed herein, accurate survey data as regards airport taxiwaysmay not be contained in the Airport Database 16 so that the RAASadvisory annunciation algorithms optionally designates as taxiway allairport terrain that is not otherwise identified as runway. Therefore,the RAAS advisory annunciation algorithms assume the aircraft to be ontaxiway, unless the Runway Selection algorithms determine the aircraftis both on a designated runway and aligned with it.

According to the invention, the Input Processing functional Block 12 isreceiving real-time electronic data signals representative of one ormore aircraft state parameters of interest. The Input Processingfunctional Block 12 of the invention accordingly extracts and derivesvalues of such aircraft state parameters of interest as latitude,longitude, radio or barometric altitude, ground speed, track angle, gearsetting, horizontal and vertical figures of merit, and one or more otheraircraft state parameters as may be of interest for generating the RAASsituational awareness advisories of the invention.

The extracted and derived parameter values are output to the RunwaySelection Logic which is operated for retrieving relevant runwayinformation from the database 16 of airport information and fordetermining that the aircraft is on the ground and taxiing in taxiwayarea 304 toward and eventually reaching the runways RWY 16/34. From thetime the aircraft enters taxiway 304 until it reaches a runway the RAASportion of the Advisory Condition Detection Processing function receivesand monitors the pertinent data as described herein. If the dataindicate an imminent taxiway take-off, the Advisory Condition DetectionProcessing function generates a warning to that effect, as describedherein. In such instance, the RAAS portion of the Aural/Visual AdvisoryProcessing function determines priority of the imminent taxiway take-offcondition advisory, and if the advisory takes precedence, as describedherein announces the advisory on over one or both the pilot interfacesdescribed herein, i.e. the cockpit audio device 22 and the flight deckdisplay surface 26. For example, one embodiment the advisoryannouncement of the invention for an imminent taxiway take-offannunciation is the advisory, “On taxiway, on taxiway.”

Once the RAAS portion of the Runway Selection Logic function determines,as a function of updated real-time electronic data signalsrepresentative of one or more aircraft state parameters of interest andrelevant runway information retrieved from the database of runwayinformation, that the aircraft is leaving the taxiway for the runwaysRWY 16/34, and outputs an appropriate signal to the Advisory ConditionDetection Processing function, the Advisory Condition DetectionProcessing function of the invention generates an advisory to thateffect, as described herein. The Aural/Visual Advisory Processingfunction determines priority of the runway encounter advisory, andaccording to precedence, announces the advisory as described herein.According to one embodiment of the invention, the runway encounteradvisory announcement is, “Approaching one six,” or alternatively“Crossing one six.”

The runway encounter advisory is triggered by entry of the aircraft intothe augmented envelope surrounding the runway. Because the envelope isaugmented as a function of aircraft ground speed, a rapidly movingaircraft receives the advisory earlier than a relatively slowly movingaircraft.

When the aircraft satisfies two conditions: that it encounters therunway centerline within pre-selected limits, and that the aircraft isaligned with the runway centerline within a pre-selected angle for apre-selected minimum time period, the Advisory Condition DetectionProcessing function generates an advisory to that effect, as describedherein. The Aural/Visual Advisory Processing function determinespriority of the runway entry advisory, and according to precedence,announces the runway entry advisory as described herein. According toone embodiment of the invention, the runway entry advisory announcementis, “On runway one six.”

Under some circumstances the aircraft 302 is required to hold inposition on the runway before being cleared for take-off. For example,the runway is in use by another aircraft. According to one embodiment ofthe invention, Extended Holding On Runway advisories are annunciated,whereby the runway entry advisory announcement is repeated after aselected period of silence. Thus, if the aircraft remains in position onthe runway within pre-selected along-track distance limits, for exampleabout 100 feet, for a selectable time period. The time period by whichan extended hold is determined can be configured for 60, 90, 120, 180,240, or 300 seconds By example the time period for determining anextended hold is set nominally at about 90 seconds after which timeperiod the runway entry advisory announcement is repeated. For example,the runway entry advisory announcement is repeated twice as, “On runway,on runway,” or alternatively, “On runway one six, on runway one six.”

Additional runway entry advisories are optionally announced atselectable periods after the first reminder if the aircraft continues toremains in position on the runway. For example, the runway entryadvisories are announced at periods nominally selected as 2 minutes and5 minutes. Given this additional situational awareness information, theflight crew is made aware of the length of the hold and can query thetower as to the delay. Extended Holding On Runway advisories aresuppressed after an Aborted or Rejected Takeoff is detected. A RejectedTakeoff is detected when the aircraft ground speed falls by a selectedamount below the maximum ground speed attained, for example, unless theground speed falls by about 7 knots below the maximum ground speedattained.

The Extended Holding On Runway advisory is reset when the aircraftleaves the runway.

If the aircraft 302 continues along the runways RWY 16/34 and encounterscrossing runways RWY 11/29, designated herein by reference numeral 308,the Runway Selection Logic function retrieves from the Airport Database16 the identification of runways RWY 11/29 and outputs an appropriatesignal to the Advisory Condition Detection Processing function whichgenerates an advisory to that effect, as described herein. TheAural/Visual Advisory Processing function determines priority of therunway crossing advisory, and according to precedence, announces theadvisory as described herein. According to one embodiment of theinvention, the advisory announcement is, “Crossing runway two nine.”

If the aircraft path 300 turns onto runways RWY 11/29 as determined bythe Advisory Condition Detection Processing function, i.e., satisfyingthe conditions as described herein, an appropriate entry signal isgenerated and output to the Aural/Visual Advisory Processing function.In turn, the Aural/Visual Advisory Processing function determinesprecedence of the advisory, and if appropriate, announces the advisoryas described herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, theadvisory announcement is, “Entering runway one one,” or “On runway oneone.”

If the aircraft path 300 alternatively remains on the runways RWY 16/34as determined by the Advisory Condition Detection Processing function,the Advisory Condition Detection Processing function generates andoutputs an appropriate signal to the Aural/Visual Advisory Processingfunction. According to one embodiment of the invention, in such instancethe Aural/Visual Advisory Processing function makes no advisoryannouncement. Under such circumstance, the Aural/Visual AdvisoryProcessing function need not determine priority of an advisory andprecedence over other possible advisories and alerts. Alternatively, theAdvisory Condition Detection Processing function generates a blankadvisory and outputs an appropriate signal, and the Aural/VisualAdvisory Processing function operates as with any other advisorycondition.

If the aircraft path 300 eventually leaves the runways RWY 11/29 asdetermined by the Advisory Condition Detection Processing function, theAdvisory Condition Detection Processing function, as described herein,it optionally generates and outputs an appropriate exit signal to theAural/Visual Advisory Processing function. In turn, the Aural/VisualAdvisory Processing function determines precedence of the advisory, andif appropriate, announces the advisory as described herein. According toone embodiment of the invention, the advisory announcement is, “Leavingrunway one six.”

The RAAS algorithms identify the runway approached or entered byaircraft position relative to the runway location retrieved from theAirport Database 16. However, if the aircraft instead taxies on a path310 such that the aircraft approaches an intersection between tworunways such that a level of uncertainty exists as to which of runwaysRWY 11/29 and runways RWY 16/34 is being approached, according to oneembodiment of the invention, a generic RAAS advisory annunciation forthe approaching runway is given as, “Approaching runways.” Similarly, ifthe aircraft path 310 approaches runways RWY 16/34 at the midpoint suchthat a level of uncertainty exists as to whether runway RWY 16 or RWY 34is being approached, the generic RAAS advisory annunciation for theapproaching runway, “Approaching runways,” is given.

Runway designation for entry at the midpoint is determined by the RAASalgorithms as a function of the direction or heading the aircraftestablishes relative to the runway direction. If the aircraft headingbecomes aligned with runway RWY 16 within the algorithm's angle and timeperiod parameters, the runway entry advisory announcement is, is givenfor runway RWY 16 as, “On runway one six,” or “On one six right.” Ifinstead the aircraft heading becomes aligned with runway RWY 34 withinthe algorithm's angle and time period parameters, the runway entryadvisory announcement is, is given for runway RWY 34 as, “Enteringrunway three four,” or “On runway three four.”The RAAS generates onlythe three situational awareness advisories described above in a normalcourse of events: the runway approach advisory during landing, andon-ground advisories: the approaching runway advisory, and enteringrunway advisory.

Wrong Runway Annunciation

Under special conditions other situational awareness advisories may beannunciated, such as a short or “wrong” runway take-off advisory.Numerous runway incursion have involved take-off from an incorrect orwrong runway. In several known cases, the runway was significantlyshorter than the range of field lengths required for safe operation ofthe aircraft involved. The system described herein addresses this latterproblem by providing the flight crew with an advisory call-out of ashort or wrong runway take-off

As described herein, the algorithms of the invention that provide thisadded pilot awareness of aircraft location with respect to taxiways andrunways are operated as a function of current aircraft positionaccording to GPS latitude and longitude, aircraft heading, and length ofthe current runway. In additional, the algorithm also utilizes apredetermined nominal take-off field length for the particular aircraftcategory.

Annunciation criteria may vary depending upon the specificimplementation of the RAAS portion of the invention. However nominally,the advising algorithm operated by the Advisory Condition DetectionProcessing Block 18 (shown in FIG. 1) initially establishes whether theaircraft is on and lined-up with a runway, as discussed herein. Therunway distance or length remaining is computed as a function of thecurrent position of the aircraft on the runway and knowledge of runwaylength. Runway length remaining is compared with the nominal take-offfield length required for take-off. If runway length remaining is legsthan the nominal take-off field length required, a short, i.e. wrong,runway annunciation is provided to the pilot as an aural advisorycall-out announced over the cockpit speaker system, such as the cockpitaudio device 22 shown in FIG. 1. For example, one embodiment of an auraladvisory call-out for a taxiway take-off annunciation is the advisory,“Short Runway”.

Either in addition to or as an alternative to the aural annunciation, avisual annunciation of the “Short Runway” advisory is provided on adisplay surface located within the flight deck, such as the cockpitdisplay device 26 shown in FIG. 1.

According to the one embodiment, the apparatus, method and computerprogram product of the invention include means for generating a RAASavailable runway advisory representative of the runway length availablefor landing. Accordingly, the apparatus, method and computer-readableprogram code of the invention access the database 16 of airportinformation and retrieve the stored parameters of the selected runway;determine the position of the installation aircraft relative to one orboth of the runway endpoints; compute the remaining runway distanceavailable for landing; and generate the available runway advisoryaccordingly. Optionally, the RAAS available runway advisory is generatedas a function of the aircraft category, whereby the runway lengthavailable for landing is compared with a nominal runway landing lengthspecified for the installation aircraft category. The RAAS availablerunway advisory is generated if the nominal runway landing lengthspecified for the installation aircraft category exceeds the runwaylength available for landing. According to one embodiment of theinvention, the RAAS available runway advisory generation is suppressed,unless the nominal runway landing length specified for the installationaircraft category exceeds the runway length available for landing.

According to one embodiment, the apparatus, method and computer programproduct of the invention include means for generating and annunciatingadvisories that report a length of runway remaining before the end ofthe runway in selectable increments, by example and without limitationincrements of 1000 feet or 300 meters, after the installation aircraftpasses a midpoint in the length of the selected runway. The inventionalso includes means for generating advisories that report a plurality ofremaining runway lengths before the end of the runway, such as remainingrunway lengths of 500 feet and 100 feet.

Imminent Landing Situational Awareness (ILSA)

Imminent Landing Situational Awareness (ILSA) is another airportsituational awareness program that is optionally operated in combinationwith the RAAS during landing phase of flight. During the last sequenceof the landing, there is a need for increased situational awareness ofthe aircraft altitude and the remaining runway distance.

According to the ILSA system portion of the present invention, theapparatus, method and computer program product of the invention areoperated for enhancing the pilot's awareness of the aircraft positionand altitude during operations in airspace near the airport and on therunway. Accordingly, the ILSA system provides a flare altitude monitorthat determines that the landing has not been completed within specifiedconditions, and thereafter provides at a specified interval periodicaltitude callouts to the nearest foot. Additionally, the ILSA systemportion of the of the invention provides runway distance remainingcallouts once additional conditions are satisfied.

The ILSA system portion of the of the invention utilizes the aircraft'sradio altimeter to provide flare callouts when one or more “gates” andtheir respective timeouts are satisfied. According to one embodiment ofthe invention, a first gate is triggered when the aircraft descendsbelow a first altitude H_(HIGH) with a first timeout period T_(HIGH).For example, the first altitude may be 20 feet with a timeout of 10seconds. A second gate is triggered when the aircraft descends below asecond altitude H_(LOW) that is lower than the first altitude H_(HIGH)with a second timeout period T_(LOW). For example, the second loweraltitude may be 10 feet with a second timeout of 6 seconds. The flarecallouts are repeated at regular intervals, for example every 4 seconds.Flare callouts are locked-out under circumstances that indicate one ofthe aircraft slowing to below a minimum threshold speed; the aircraftaltitude rising above a minimum threshold altitude H_(RESET) thatindicates a go-around; or the aircraft altitude falls below a maximumthreshold altitude that indicates it is on the ground. For example, ifthe aircraft ground speed falls below a minimum threshold speed of about60 knots, the flare callouts are locked out. If the altitude (AGL) risesabove a minimum threshold altitude of about 100 feet, a go-around isindicated and the flare callouts are locked out. If the altitude is ator below a maximum threshold altitude that indicates it is on theground, the flare callouts are locked out. The maximum thresholdaltitude that must be satisfied may be set above ground level to allowfor radio altitude errors. For example, the maximum threshold altitudemay be set at about 1 foot above ground level.

The remaining runway distance aspect of the ILSA system portion of theof the invention utilizes the GPS position information, runwayinformation retrieved from the Airport Database 16, and optionally,heading information retrieved from a suitable source of aircraftinformation, to compute the position of the aircraft relative to the endof the runway. According to the remaining runway distance aspect of theILSA system, when the aircraft position is determined to be past thecenter point of the runway and a callout point is reached, anappropriate callout is annunciated. The callout points are selected toadvise the flight crew of the decreasing length of runway remaining. Byexample and without limitation, the callout points are selected to be at3000, 2000, 1000, and 500 feet of remaining runway length. The runwayremaining callouts are locked out under specified conditions such thatnuisance warnings are reduced or eliminated. Accordingly, the calloutsare locked out after a first annunciation, or if the aircraft groundspeed falls below a selected safe threshold, by example nominallyselected as about 40 to 60 knots.

Flare Altitude Monitor Advisory

The ILSA system flare altitude monitor provides an aural indication tothe flight crew during the flare just before landing to help alleviatepotential situational awareness errors such as: landing long, landingshort, bouncing, landing hard, and go-around. The ILSA system flarealtitude monitor aurally informs the flight crew of the aircraft'scurrent altitude after the trigger condition has been satisfied. Themonitor repeats the aural altitude advisories at regular intervals untilthe aircraft has either landed or a go-around occurs.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of theILSA-system flare altitude monitor of the present invention. FIG. 12illustrates the warning algorithms of the ILSA system flare altitudemonitor 350, including the gates H_(HIGH) and H_(LOW) and theirrespective timeouts T_(HIGH) and T_(LOW). The altitude signal isprovided, by example and without limitation, as a radio altitude signalprovided as an output of the well-known Mode 6 portion of a GroundProximity Warning System (GPWS) or Enhanced Ground Proximity WarningSystem (EGPWS). The flare callout lock-outs are provided as describedabove by: comparing the aircraft altitude rate to a threshold altituderate H_(RESET) that indicates a go-around. For example, the ILSA uses asimple compare of altitude rate to a reasonable threshold altitude rate,for example 300 fpm, which is ANDed into the reset logic to suppressflare callouts during a go-around. The flare callout lock-outs are alsoprovided by comparing the aircraft altitude to a maximum thresholdaltitude that indicates it is on the ground (input signal InAir shown asFALSE).

One of the callout lock-outs for the remaining runway distance aspect ofthe ILSA system is provided as described above by: a determination thatthe annunciation was already given once, shown as a VOICE GIVEN signalthat is output at the end of the message annunciation (EOM) so thatmessages do not overlap. The remaining runway distance callouts areoptionally locked-out if the aircraft ground speed falls below aselected safe threshold when compared to a threshold speed.

The warning algorithms are further defined by a quantity of additionalconditions that are processed at a minimum sampling rate given, byexample and without limitation, as ten times per second. A FlareAltitude Monitor Voice Advisory is TRUE if the following conditionsexist: a Flare Altitude Monitor High Enable is TRUE, or a Flare AltitudeMonitor Low Enable is TRUE and a Flare Altitude Monitor Repeat is FALSE.A Flare Altitude Monitor Voice Request is set TRUE when the FlareAltitude Monitor Voice Advisory transitions from FALSE to TRUE. TheFlare Altitude Monitor Voice Request is set FALSE when any of thefollowing conditions are satisfied: a Flare Altitude Monitor Voice hasbeen given (end of message); Power-Up is TRUE; and a Flare AltitudeMonitor Reset is TRUE. The Flare Altitude Monitor Repeat is set TRUEwhen Flare Altitude Monitor Voice Advisory transitions from FALSE toTRUE. The Flare Altitude Monitor Repeat is set FALSE when the FlareAltitude Monitor Voice Advisory has been FALSE for a selected period oftime, having a default value nominally selected as 5 seconds. The FlareAltitude Monitor Voice is set continuously re-computed and updated fromthe Mode 6 Radio Altitude while the Flare Altitude Monitor Voice Requestis active. Flare Altitude Monitor Reset Latch is set TRUE underconditions where either the Mode 6 Radio Altitude Valid is FALSE, or theInAir Valid is FALSE. Flare Altitude Monitor Reset Latch is set FALSE ifall of the following conditions exist: the Mode 6 Radio Altitude Validis TRUE; the Mode 6 Radio Altitude is greater than a selected maximumheight above the runway, the maximum height having a default valuenominally selected as 100 feet; and the InAir Valid is TRUE. The FlareAltitude Monitor Reset is TRUE if either the Flare Altitude MonitorReset Latch is TRUE, or the Mode 6 Radio Altitude is greater than thedefault maximum height. A Flare Altitude Monitor High Trigger is setTRUE if the Mode 6 Radio Altitude is less than a selected minimum heightabove the runway, the minimum height having a default value nominallyselected as 20 feet. The Flare Altitude Monitor High Trigger is setFALSE if the Flare Altitude Monitor Reset is TRUE. The Flare AltitudeMonitor High Enable is set TRUE if the Flare Altitude Monitor HighTrigger is TRUE for more than a selected minimum time period having adefault value nominally selected as 15 seconds. A Flare Altitude MonitorLow Trigger is set TRUE if the Mode 6 Radio Altitude is less than aselected minimum height above the runway, the minimum height having adefault value nominally selected as 10 feet. The Flare Altitude MonitorLow Trigger is set FALSE if the Flare Altitude Monitor Reset is TRUE. AFlare Altitude Monitor Low Enable is set TRUE if the Flare AltitudeMonitor Low Trigger is TRUE for more than a selected maximum period oftime, having a default value nominally selected as 5 seconds.

Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System (APSAS)

According to one embodiment of the invention, data is optionally outputto and received from other aircraft. The function of the invention fordetermining location of an aircraft with respect to airport taxiways andrunways provides the crew with either or both of aural and visualannunciation of information indicating as appropriate that: a runwaybeing approached or entered is occupied by another vehicle or otherairport equipment; a runway being approached or entered is being vacatedby other vehicle; and another vehicle is approaching or entering arunway currently occupied by the installation aircraft.

The Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System (APSAS) portion ofthe invention is operated by the Processing Block 30, shown in FIG. 1,to determine the position of the aircraft relative to the airport andreports the position of the installation aircraft on a graphicaldepiction of the airport and its approaches that is displayed on adisplay surface located within the flight deck, such as the cockpitdisplay device 26 shown in FIG. 1.

Under conditions whereby the installation aircraft may be affected byon-ground and other traffic in the airport vicinity, the APSAS of theinvention is operated to improve situational awareness of theinstallation aircraft relative to the airport and its environs.Accordingly, the APSAS of the invention is operated under circumstanceswhere initial conditions indicate that the aircraft is on the ground atthe airport, or landing or taking-off from the airport.

The APSAS apparatus, method and computer program product of theinvention initially and periodically retrieves up-dated extracted andderived aircraft state parameter values of interest, as describedherein, including aircraft altitude, GPS position, heading, ground speedinformation, and other information of interest useful for determining acurrent phase of flight. If as a function of the aircraft stateparameter values the aircraft is determined to satisfy conditions thatindicate that it is either on the ground at the airport, or landing ortaking-off from the airport, the APSAS is made operational for reportinga position and velocity vector of the installation aircraft relative toan airport of interest, i.e. the local airport.

The APSAS apparatus, method and computer program product of theinvention queries the Airport Database 16 for survey informationdescribing the taxiway, runway and fixed obstacle layout of the airportof interest, ie. the local airport, and retrieve the survey informationif available. Using this survey information the APSAS develops agraphical depiction of the airport of interest and its approaches andoutputs a video signal representative of the graphical depiction to thecockpit display device 26. Alternatively, the graphical depiction of theairport is stored in the Airport Database 16 and retrieved therefrom.The APSAS periodically retrieves up-dated extracted and derived aircraftstate parameter values, as described herein, including aircraftaltitude, GPS position, heading, ground speed and ground speedinformation, and flap and gear position information or other informationrelative to the current phase of flight. The APSAS periodically outputsthe up-dated extracted and derived aircraft state parameter values tothe cockpit display device 26 as video signals representative of anaircraft position and heading vector relative to the graphical depictionof the airport. The APSAS plots the up-dated position and heading vectorover the graphical depiction of the airport. The up-to-date aircraftposition and velocity vector information relative to the airport and itsenvirons are thereby available at a glance for enhancing the airportsituational awareness of the pilot and flight crew.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the APSAS periodicallybroadcasts the up-to-date aircraft position and velocity vectorinformation and changes in the status of the installation aircraft toother aircraft in the vicinity by RF broadcast via on-boardcommunications hardware 28, and periodically receives such broadcastsfrom other installation aircraft in the vicinity using a short range,low power local band that limits the range of the broadcast to theairport and its immediate environs. Ground-based repeaters areoptionally employed in area of severe signal attenuation such as areasshielded by terrain or by fixed obstacles such as hangers. Thisbroadcast of aircraft position and velocity vector information isconceptually similar to existing RF communication functions such as ModeS transponder, or the evolving Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS, or“ADS-B”) concepts including “UAT,” but in practice it differssignificantly in that the APSAS broadcast includes specialized RFcharacteristics and is designed to solve a different problem. ExistingADS data could be used to augment some parts of the APSAS broadcast ofthe current invention, but is insufficient to solve the problem at leastbecause these other existing RF communication systems are typicallydisabled on the ground to reduce or limit frequency congestion whichprecludes relying on the data for on-ground runway conflict detection.These other existing RF communication systems (with the exclusion ofUAT) are relatively expensive, which in practice excludes theirapplication to small aircraft, trucks, and fixed obstacles, which aremany times at the root of real-world accidents that the presentinvention addresses. These other existing RF communication systems failto incorporate at least some of the flag bits, e.g., OnRwy, Crossing,and M/T flag shown in FIG. 13, used to enable the APSAS advisories.These other existing RF communication systems by design utilize arelatively high-power broadcast. Even if all these identified problemswere addressed, the resulting larger RF communication system forpracticing the APSAS invention would fail at busy airports because offrequency congestion. Reducing the transmit power would make themuseless to their existing purposes. These other existing RFcommunication systems differ from the APSAS RF communications system bynecessity because they solve different problems.

The APSAS broadcast information is optionally limited to GPS positioninformation with the velocity vectors of other aircraft being computedby the APSAS algorithm as a function of changes in the received positioninformation over time. The Other Aircraft Data Tracking Processingfunctional Block 30 of the APSAS tracks the received data and suppliesit to the Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18 for plottingon the display device 26 over the graphical depiction of the airport,and to support advisory generation.

The Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18 of the APSASapparatus, method and computer program product receives either theup-to-date position and velocity vector information of other aircraft atthe airport or in its immediate vicinity, or receives only the otheraircraft position information. In the latter case, the AdvisoryCondition Detection Processing computes the other aircraft velocityvectors as a function of changes in the other aircraft positioninformation over time. Alternatively, airport equipment, such as baggagecarriers, fire trucks, and construction equipment, are equipped with aversion of the airport situational awareness apparatus of the inventionfor broadcasting position information, including maximum height aboverunway information, so that installation aircraft operating on andaround the airport are cognizant of the location of such hazards.

The Advisory Condition Detection Processing compares the own aircraftposition and velocity vector with the positions and velocity vectors ofother aircraft at the airport and in the vicinity, and determinespotential conflicts using basic physics equations embodied in eitherwell-known software programs or proprietary programs. If one or morepotential conflict between the own aircraft and one or more otheraircraft is determined, the Advisory Condition Detection ProcessingBlock 18 generates an advisory to annunciate the potential conflict orconflicts. The Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18generates output signals that stimulate the Aural Advisory Processingfunctional Block 20 that includes processing for aural advisorygeneration and prioritization and outputs an aural advisory signal to acockpit audio device 22. According to another embodiment of theinvention, the Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18generates output signals that stimulate the Visual Advisory Processingfunctional Block 24 that includes processing for video advisorygeneration and prioritization and generates video output signals to thecockpit display device 26 that result in display of either or both oftextual and pictographic information indicative of the potentialconflict or conflicts.

The optional Other Aircraft Data Tracking Processing Block 30 shown inFIG. 1 is thus coupled to exchange in real-time changes in aircraftposition and velocity status information via the Communications HardwareProcessing Block 28 between the installation aircraft and other aircraftin the vicinity, if any. According to one embodiment, the AdvisoryCondition Detection Processing Block 18 output data are sent to a RS-232I/O channel. An external circuit converts the serial data stream to ToneModulation, which is broadcast over a short-range UHF FM radiorepresented by the Communications Hardware Processing Block 28.Broadcasts from other aircraft are received by the same radio, runthrough an inverse circuit, and received by the computer hosting atleast the Advisory Condition Detection Processing Block 18 as a RS-232data stream.

The overall amount of radio traffic processed by any given station isminimized by the RF band and transmit power being carefully chosen tolimit the average distance of reception. Three factors drive suchminimization. All traffic use the same RF frequency to minimize thecomplexity of the radio, minimize cost, and eliminates the need for crewintervention, i.e. tuning. A simple radio will have a low bit rate (300to 1200 baud) because of the very narrow allocated bandwidth. Also, thenumber of transmitters will increase, on average, as the square of thereception distance. If a given message is 190 bit times, plus 50 to 100ms of set-up time to clear squelch and Automatic Gain Control (AGC), theon-air time is 210 to 730 ms per message. Assuming a landing rate of 60aircraft per hour per runway, and a worst-case runway density of 6aircraft in a 3-mile radius, basic message traffic could be as high astwo (entry/exit) every 10 seconds. With a 15-mile reception radius, therunway count increases to 12 and the on-air time increases to 2.5seconds per message. If message time is on the order of 0.5 to 1 second,and conflicts require an exchange of messages to resolve, the receptionradius needs to be small enough to allow 4 to 5 seconds per message.

Data Formatting

FIG. 13 shows a generally self-explanatory Table 400 that illustratesformatting of the serial data stream. According to one embodiment of theinvention, an Aircraft ID 1^(st) byte 402 (2 places) employs six-bitcharacter encoding=(‘ch’, clamp to 0x20 . . . 0X5F)−0x20. Runway heading404=01 to 36, as a function of assigned ID rather than magnetic heading.Runway ID 406 is formatted as: 00=no char, 01=Left, 02=Center, 03=Right.Altitude 408 is computed according to:Altitude=((GeoAlt, clamped −2000 to +23,500)+2000+0.5 LSB)/100.Ground speed 410 is computed according to:GndSpd=((TAGndSpd, clamped 0 to 511 kts)+0.5 LSB)/2.Track 412 is computed according to:Track=(TATruTrk, clamped 0 to 357 deg)+0.5 LSB)/5.625.Latitude, LSB 414 (2 places) employs 24-bit fixed point realencoding=(long)(rVal/SCL), SCL=(180.0/(1<<23)). Check Byte 416 indicatesthat no transmission errors occurred when the sum of all 19 bytes inpacket equal zero.Computer Program Product

In addition to being practiced as apparatus and methods, the presentinvention is also practiced as a computer program product for generatingand annunciating the airport situational awareness advisories of theinvention.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the airport situationalawareness system of the invention is embodied in a computer programproduct for operation on an on-board processor, such as the processor 10shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the computer program product includes aplurality of machine instructions that are retrieved and operated by theprocessor 10 for enabling the airport situational awareness system ofthe invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, the computer program product of the inventionincludes a computer-readable storage medium 32 readable by a mediumreader 34, the computer-readable program code means being embodied inthe storage medium 32. The medium reader 34 is coupled to the to theprocessor 10 via a memory device 36. Optionally, the computer-readablestorage medium may be part of a memory device 36 for reading by theprocessor 10. The processor 10 of the present invention implements thecomputer-readable program code means for receiving sources of instrumentsignals reporting aircraft parameter state information and airportdatabase information, and in response generating a plurality of airportsituational awareness advisories, as described herein.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram 500 that illustrates by example and withoutlimitation the invention embodied as a computer program product forgenerating and annunciating the airport situational awarenessadvisories. Accordingly, the computer program product includescomputer-readable program code means for operating the portions of theinvention Runway Selection 510, the Runway Awareness and Advisory System(RAAS) 520, the Imminent Landing Situational Awareness (ILSA) 530, andthe Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System (APSAS) 540, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 15: Runway Selection 510

The computer-readable program code means for generating and annunciatingthe airport situational awareness advisories of the invention includes afirst computer-readable program code means for selecting or identifyinga runway at an airport that the installation aircraft is most likely toencounter. The runway selection or identifying computer-readable programmeans includes:

a computer-readable program code means for receiving one or moreinstrument signals reporting a plurality of aircraft state parameters ofinterest, including position, orientation (a function of heading ortrack), altitude, ground speed, and phase of flight, includingoptionally computer-readable program code means for validating theinformation;

a computer-readable program code means for retrieving stored databaseinformation reporting a plurality of airport runway and taxiway (ifavailable) information as a function of at least the position andorientation aircraft state parameters, including optionallycomputer-readable program code means for validating the information;

a computer-readable program code means for determining a plurality ofairport runways nearest the current position of the installationaircraft;

a computer-readable program code means for constructing a runwayenvelope surrounding each of the airport runways; and

a computer-readable program code means for determining the presence ofthe aircraft within one of the runway envelopes, for example, bycomparing at least the aircraft position and orientation stateparameters with each of the runway envelopes and determining coincidenceof the position information with the runway envelope, and optionallyalignment of the orientation information with a centerline of the runwaywithin a pre-selected angular range.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for constructing an envelope surrounding the airportrunways includes computer-readable program code means for augmenting theenvelope beyond the fixed runway dimensions as a function of anaugmentation expansion having a magnitude that includes a fixed amount,an amount proportional to the width of the runway, and an amountproportional to the installation aircraft's ground speed in excess of athreshold. The computer-readable program code means for augmenting theenvelope includes computer-readable program code means for computing thedirection of the augmentation expansion as opposite to the aircraftheading or track. The computer-readable program code means foraugmenting the envelope includes computer-readable program code meansfor computing the augmentation expansion length according to theAugmentation Expansion Length formula discussed herein. Thecomputer-readable program code means for augmenting the envelopeincludes computer-readable program code means for computing theenvelope's with and length according to the Box Width Component and BoxLength Component, respectively, as discussed herein.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, thecomputer-readable program code means for constructing an envelopesurrounding the airport runways relative to aircraft on the groundincludes computer-readable program code means for augmenting theenvelope beyond the fixed runway dimensions as a function of one or morequality factors that provide distance amounts by which the width andlength of the runway are enlarged.

According to another alternative embodiment of the invention, thecomputer-readable program code means for constructing an envelopesurrounding the airport runways relative to aircraft on approach forlanding optionally includes computer-readable program code means forgenerating upper and lower glide paths relative to the end of therunway, and optionally includes computer-readable program code means forgenerating vertical and horizontal extensions by which the runway isaugmented.

Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) 520

Returning to FIG. 14, the computer-readable program code means forgenerating and annunciating the airport situational awareness advisoriesof the invention includes a second computer-readable program code meansfor generating and annunciating the airport situational awarenessadvisories of the invention as a function of coincidence of theinstallation aircraft with the an envelope constructed around theselected runway according to the first computer-readable program codemeans for selecting or identifying a runway at an airport that theinstallation aircraft is most likely to encounter. The secondcomputer-readable program code means for generating and annunciating theairport situational awareness advisories of the invention includes:

a computer-readable program code means for receiving information fromthe first computer-readable program means identifying the selectedrunway, including a position and orientation of the selected runway andthe envelope constructed around the selected runway;

a computer-readable program code means for receiving current aircraftstate information, including current altitude, ground speed, position,angular orientation, and phase of flight of the installation aircraft,wherein ground speed is optionally determined by computer-readableprogram code means for computing ground speed as a function of changesin current position with respect to time;

a computer-readable program code means for determining a coincidence ofthe installation aircraft with the selected runway by determining eachof: a coincidence of the position of the installation aircraft with theenvelope constructed around the selected runway, and an orientation ofthe installation aircraft with the selected runway; and

a computer-readable program code means for generating a RAAS advisoryannunciation relative to the selected runway as a function of: thecurrent position and alignment of the installation aircraft with theselected runway, and the current phase of flight of the installationaircraft.

The computer-readable program code means for determining coincidence ofthe position of the installation aircraft with the envelope constructedaround the selected runway includes computer-readable program code meansfor determining coincidence of a current latitude and longitude positionof the installation aircraft with computed current latitude andlongitude extents of the constructed envelope.

The computer-readable program code means for determining an orientationof the installation aircraft with the selected runway includescomputer-readable program code means for determining an alignment of theinstallation aircraft with the selected runway within a selected angularlimit of alignment. According to one embodiment of the invention, thecomputer-readable program code means for determining an alignment of theinstallation aircraft with the selected runway within a selected angularlimit of alignment includes computer-readable program code means fordetermining alignment of the current track or heading of theinstallation aircraft with the centerline of the selected runway withinselected angular limits.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation includesmeans for generating one or more of a RAAS approach for landing advisoryannunciation, an approaching runway during taxiing advisoryannunciation, and an entering runway during taxiing advisoryannunciation.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation includesmeans for generating a runway approach advisory annunciation during anapproach for landing upon determining that the installation aircraft is:entering the envelope constructed around the selected runway bydetermining the coincidence within selected limits of the position ofthe installation aircraft with the centerline of the selected runway,aligned with the selected runway by determining the alignment withinselected angular limits of the track or heading of the installationaircraft with the selected runway or the centerline of the selectedrunway, and approaching the selected runway for landing by determiningthe current phase of flight of the installation aircraft.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS runway approach advisoryannunciation during an approach for landing further includescomputer-readable program code means for suppressing the runway approachadvisory annunciation as a function of the installation aircraftaltitude relative to the selected runway, i.e., the height above theselected runway. For example, the computer-readable program code meansfor suppressing the runway approach advisory annunciation includescomputer-readable program code means for determining the height of theinstallation aircraft above a maximum height above the selected runwayof, by example and without limitation, about 700 feet to 750 or 800feet.

Additionally, the computer-readable program code means for suppressingthe runway approach advisory annunciation as a function of theinstallation aircraft altitude relative to the selected runway includescomputer-readable program code means for suppressing the runway approachadvisory annunciation by determining the height of the installationaircraft below a minimum height above the selected runway of, by exampleand without limitation, about 300 feet. Additionally, thecomputer-readable program code means for suppressing the runway approachadvisory annunciation as a function of the installation aircraftaltitude relative to the selected runway includes computer-readableprogram code means for suppressing the runway approach advisoryannunciation by determining the height of the installation aircraft in arange about the normal Height Above Field call-outs, by example andwithout limitation determining the determining the height of theinstallation aircraft in a range above and below a height above therunway where one or more normal Height Above Field call-outs areannunciated.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS runway approach advisoryannunciation during an approach for landing further includescomputer-readable program code means for announcing an available runwayadvisory of the runway length available for landing by, for example,accessing the database of airport information and retrieving the storedparameters of the selected runway; determining the position of theinstallation aircraft relative to one or both of the runway endpoints;computing the runway distance available for landing; and generating theavailable runway advisory of the runway length available for landing.Optionally, this computer-readable program code means for generating aRAAS available runway advisory further includes computer-readableprogram code means for generating the advisory as a function of theaircraft category, whereby the runway length available for landing iscompared with a nominal runway landing length specified for theinstallation aircraft category, and the RAAS available runway advisoryis generated if the nominal runway landing length specified for theinstallation aircraft category exceeds the runway length available forlanding. Otherwise, the RAAS available runway advisory generation issuppressed.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating an on-ground RAAS advisoryannunciation includes computer-readable program code means forgenerating the on-ground advisories on approaching and entering arunway, unless the installation aircraft is on a runway and aligned withit, and the groundspeed of the installation aircraft is greater than athreshold ground speed, by example nominally selected as about 40-60knots. Accordingly, if all three of these conditions are met, theon-ground RAAS advisory annunciations are suppressed.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation includescomputer-readable program code means for generating an on-ground runwayapproach advisory annunciation during taxiing upon determining that theinstallation aircraft is entering the envelope constructed around theselected runway by determining that: the position of the installationaircraft coincides with the envelope constructed around the selectedrunway; and

the installation aircraft is on the ground by determining that: theinstallation aircraft is configured in a taxiing phase of flight, theinstallation aircraft is traveling at a ground speed that is less than aselected threshold ground speed, or the installation aircraft has acurrent altitude that is less than a selected threshold altitude.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation includesmeans for generating an on-ground runway entry advisory annunciationupon determining that:

the installation aircraft is entering the envelope constructed aroundthe selected runway by determining the coincidence within selectedlimits of the position of the installation aircraft with the centerlineof the selected runway;

the installation aircraft is aligned with the selected runway bydetermining the alignment within selected limits of the track or headingof the installation aircraft with the selected runway or the centerlineof the selected runway; and

the installation aircraft is on the ground by determining that: theinstallation aircraft is configured in a take-off phase of flight, theinstallation aircraft is traveling at a ground speed that is less than aselected threshold ground speed, or the installation aircraft has acurrent altitude that is less than a selected threshold altitude.

According to one embodiment, the computer-readable program code meansfor generating a runway entry advisory annunciation includes means foridentifying the runway entered by, for example, determining the currentposition of the installation aircraft relative to a midpoint of therunway. According to one embodiment, the computer-readable program codemeans for identifying the runway entered includes computer-readableprogram code means for determining the orientation, i.e., the heading ortrack, of the installation aircraft relative to the runway or theenvelope constructed around the runway.

According to the one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS runway entry advisoryannunciation during taxiing, further includes computer-readable programcode means for generating one or more Extended Holding On Runway RAASadvisory annunciation when the position of the installation aircraft hasremained unchanged within selected physical limits relative to theselected runway or runway envelope for a time period in excess of one ormore selected threshold time periods. According to one embodiment of theinvention, the computer-readable program code means for generating oneor more Extended Holding On Runway RAAS advisory annunciation includecomputer-readable program code means for generating one or more repeatRAAS runway entry advisory annunciations that are spaced apart in timeby selectable intervals.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation means forgenerating a runway approach advisory annunciation during taxiingincludes computer-readable program code means for generating a crossingrunway RAAS advisory annunciation upon determining that: the runwayentry advisory annunciation has been generated relative to a firstselected runway; the installation aircraft is approaching a secondselected runway by determining that the installation aircraft isentering the envelope constructed around the selected runway, forexample, by determining that the position of the installation aircraftcoincides with the envelope constructed around the selected runway.According to one embodiment of the computer-readable program code meansfor generating a crossing runway RAAS advisory annunciation furtherincludes computer-readable program code means for determining that theinstallation aircraft is on the ground by determining that it istraveling at a ground speed less than a threshold ground speed, or istraveling at a height above the runway below a maximum threshold height.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciationoptionally includes computer-readable program code means for generatinga leaving runway advisory annunciation during taxiing, thecomputer-readable program code means including computer-readable programcode means for determining that: the runway entry advisory annunciationhas been generated relative to a selected runway, and

the installation aircraft is leaving the selected runway by determiningthat the installation aircraft is leaving the envelope constructedaround the selected runway, for example, by determining that theposition of the installation aircraft coincides with the area outsidethe bounds of the envelope constructed around the selected runway.

Other RAAS Airport Situational Awareness Advisories

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for generating a RAAS advisory annunciation includescomputer-readable program code means for generating an imminent taxiwaytake-off advisory annunciation by, for example, determining that theinstallation aircraft is on the ground and traveling at a ground speedgreater than a threshold ground speed, and determining that at least oneof two conditions is not satisfied: that the installation aircraft is onthe selected runway and aligned with the runway. Optionally, thecomputer-readable program code means for determining that the conditionis not satisfied that the installation aircraft is on the selectedrunway includes determining that the installation aircraft position isoutside the bounds of the envelope constructed around the selectedrunway. The computer-readable program code means for generating a RAASimminent taxiway take-off advisory annunciation includes further meansfor generating as a function of such a determination an advisoryrepresentative of an imminent take-off from a taxiway, such as, “Ontaxiway, on taxiway.”

Optionally, the second computer-readable program code means forgenerating and annunciating the airport situational awareness advisoriesof the invention includes computer-readable program code means forgenerating an imminent short or “wrong” runway take-off advisory whenthe length of the current runway is less than a nominal take-off fieldlength for the category of the installation aircraft. Thecomputer-readable program code means for generating an imminent shortrunway take-off advisory includes, by example and without limitation,computer-readable program code means for determining as a function ofcurrent aircraft position according to GPS latitude and longitude,aircraft heading, and a nominal take-off field length for theinstallation aircraft category that the length of the selected runway,or the length of the runway remaining for take-off, is shorter than aselected range of field length required for safe operation of theinstallation aircraft. For example, the computer-readable program codemeans for generating an imminent short runway take-off advisory includescomputer-readable program code means for generating the advisoryresponsively to computer-readable program code means for determiningthat runway length remaining is less than the nominal take-off fieldlength required.

The computer-readable program code means for generating an imminentshort runway take-off advisory includes computer-readable program codemeans for generating at intervals an advisory representative of thelength of runway remaining for take-off in selected increments until thelength of runway remaining for take-off is determined to be less than aminimum length, given that: the aircraft is determined to be on therunway, as described herein; the aircraft ground speed is greater than athreshold ground speed selected for example as being a nominal value ofabout 40 knots; and the aircraft position is past the midpoint of therunway, i.e., on a last half of the runway, unless an Aborted orRejected Takeoff is detected, as described herein. Unless the groundspeed falls by a selected amount below the maximum ground speed attainedthereby indicating a Rejected Takeoff, the computer-readable programcode means generates an advisory representative of the length of runwayremaining for take-off at near the end of the runway. For example, thecomputer-readable program code means generates an advisoryrepresentative of the length of runway remaining for take-off at aremaining length of 500 feet and 100 feet.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the secondcomputer-readable program code means for generating and annunciating theairport situational awareness advisories includes computer-readableprogram code means for generating advisories reporting the length ofrunway remaining before the end of the runway in selectable incrementsof 1000 feet after the installation aircraft passes a midpoint in thelength of the selected runway, and further for generating the length ofrunway remaining advisories for reporting the remaining lengths of 500feet and 100 feet.

FIG. 16: Imminent Landing Situational Awareness (ILSA) 530

The computer-readable program code means for generating and annunciatingthe airport situational awareness advisories of the invention includes athird computer-readable program code means for generating andannunciating the airport situational awareness advisories of theinvention as a function of a flare altitude monitor computer-readableprogram code means for determining that landing the installationaircraft has not been completed within specified conditions.Accordingly, the computer-readable program code means for generating andannunciating the airport situational awareness advisories includescomputer-readable program code means for determining that: theinstallation aircraft is currently configured in a landing phase offlight; the installation aircraft is not currently climbing at aaltitude rate in excess of a threshold altitude rate; and as a functionof height above runway, the installation aircraft has not currentlytouched-down; and further includes computer-readable program code means,responsive to determining that the installation aircraft has nottouched-down, for generating at periodic intervals flare callouts thatreport current height above the runway to the nearest foot.

The computer-readable program code means for generating periodic flarecallouts further includes computer-readable program code means forsuppressing the periodic flare callouts upon determining that: theground speed of the installation aircraft is reduced below a minimumthreshold ground speed; or the installation aircraft altitude rateexceeds a minimum threshold altitude rate, i.e., indicating a go-around;or the aircraft altitude is reduced below a maximum threshold altitudethat indicates it is on the ground. According to one embodiment, thecomputer-readable program code means for determining that theinstallation aircraft is currently in a landing phase of flight furtherincludes first computer-readable program code means for determining thatthe installation aircraft height above the runway (radio altitude AGL)is less than a first maximum height above the runway for a first minimumtime period; and second computer-readable program code means fordetermining that the installation aircraft height above the runway(radio altitude AGL) is less than a second maximum height above therunway less than the first maximum height for a second minimum timeperiod that is optionally less than the first minimum time period.

Additionally, the computer-readable program code means for generatingperiodic flare callouts further includes computer-readable program codemeans for determining that additional conditions are satisfied, andthereafter generating runway distance remaining callouts. Accordingly,the computer-readable program code means for generating periodic flarecallouts further includes computer-readable program code means forretrieving stored runway information retrieved from the AirportDatabase; retrieving GPS position information, and optionally, headinginformation; computing the aircraft position relative to the end of therunway; and generating at selected intervals along the runway advisoriesrepresentative of the remaining runway distance. For example, theremaining runway distance advisories are generated for 3000, 2000, 1000,and 500 feet of remaining runway length that indicates the end of therunway. Additionally, the computer-readable program code means forgenerating remaining runway distance advisories further includescomputer-readable program code means for suppressing the remainingrunway distance advisories, unless comparing the aircraft orientationand position relative to the selected runway indicates that the aircrafthas passed a midway point in traveling toward the end of the runway.

According to one embodiment, the computer-readable program code meansfor generating remaining runway distance advisories further includescomputer-readable program code means for suppressing the remainingrunway distance advisories under conditions that reduce or eliminatenuisance warnings. Accordingly, the computer-readable program code meansincludes computer-readable program code means for suppressing theremaining runway distance advisories after the remaining runway distanceadvisories are generated a first time, and includes computer-readableprogram code means for suppressing the remaining runway distanceadvisories if the aircraft ground speed is reduced below a selected safethreshold, by example nominally selected as about 40 to 60 knots.

FIG. 17: Aircraft Position Situational Awareness System (APSAS) 540

The computer-readable program code means for generating and annunciatingthe airport position situational awareness advisories of the inventionincludes a fourth computer-readable program code means for indicating acurrent position of the installation aircraft relative to a selectedairport; optionally broadcasting a RF message representative of theinstallation aircraft's position and optionally a velocity vectorcontaining its heading and ground speed; optionally receiving one ormore RF messages broadcast by other installation aircraft and containinginformation representative of the other installation aircraft position,and optionally containing a velocity vector containing otherinstallation aircraft heading and ground speed information; optionallycomputing potential conflicts as a function of the received RF messageinformation; and optionally generating an advisory as a function ofcomputing potential conflicts.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport includes computer-readableprogram code means for retrieving airport information from a database ofstored airport information and generating a graphical depiction of theairport information for display on a cockpit display device;

a computer-readable program code means for receiving current aircraftstate information, including current altitude, ground speed, position,angular orientation, and phase of flight of the installation aircraft,wherein ground speed is optionally determined by computer-readableprogram code means for computing ground speed as a function of changesin current position with respect to time; and

a computer-readable program code means for generating a plot the currentposition information of the installation aircraft relative to thegraphical depiction of the airport information for display on thecockpit display device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport includes computer-readableprogram code means for computing a current velocity vector of theinstallation aircraft as a function of the current ground speed andangular orientation of the installation aircraft relative to theselected airport; and

the computer-readable program code means for generating a plot thecurrent position information of the installation aircraft relative tothe graphical depiction of the airport information includescomputer-readable program code means for generating a plot the currentvelocity vector of the installation aircraft relative to the graphicaldepiction.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport also includes acomputer-readable program code means for generating an RF broadcast ofthe current position information, and optionally includes acomputer-readable program code means for periodically generating a RFbroadcast of the current velocity vector of the installation aircraft.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport also includes computer-readableprogram code means for receiving one or more RF broadcasts of currentposition of other installed devices operating the APSAS computer programproduct of the invention, including other installation aircraft,installation vehicles, installation equipment and installationobstacles; and further includes: a computer-readable program code meansfor generating a plot of the current position information of the otherinstallation aircraft relative to the graphical depiction of the airportinformation.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport also includes computer-readableprogram code means for generating a plot of a current velocity vector ofthe other installation aircraft relative to the graphical depiction,wherein the current velocity vector of the other installation aircraftis received as a RF broadcasts of current velocity vector of the otherinstallation aircraft, or optionally the current velocity vector of theother installation aircraft is computed according to computer-readableprogram code means for computing a current velocity vector of the otherinstallation aircraft as a function of the current position informationof the other installation aircraft.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport also includes computer-readableprogram code means for computing a potential conflict between the owninstallation aircraft and other installation aircraft, equipment andfixed obstacles. The potential conflicts are computed, by example andwithout limitation, as: projecting of the own installation aircraftposition and velocity vector, projecting of the other installationaircraft, vehicles, equipment and fixed obstacle positions and velocityvectors; and determining an intersection of the own installationaircraft position and velocity vector with any one or more of the otherinstallation aircraft, equipment and fixed obstacle positions andvelocity vectors.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the computer-readableprogram code means for indicating a current position of the installationaircraft relative to a selected airport also includes computer-readableprogram code means for determining priority of a potential conflictcondition advisory relative to other advisories and alerts, and

a computer-readable program code means, operable if the potentialconflict condition advisory takes precedence, for generating an advisoryindicating as appropriate that: a runway being approached or entered isoccupied by another vehicle or other airport equipment; a runway beingapproached or entered is being vacated by other vehicle; and anothervehicle is approaching or entering a runway currently occupied by theinstallation aircraft.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be appreciated that various changes can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A local situational awareness system, comprising: means foridentifying one or more runways as a function of state parameterinformation of an aircraft; means for determining a relationship of theaircraft to one identified runway as a function of the state parameterinformation; means for generating a situational awareness advisory as afunction of the relationship of the aircraft to the identified runway,for generating a situational awareness advisory as a function ofdetermining a coincidence within selected limits of the aircraft withthe one identified runway, and for generating a situational awarenessadvisory as a function of determining an alignment within selectedlimits of the aircraft to the one identified runway.
 2. The situationalawareness system of claim 1 wherein the means for identifying furthercomprises means for accessing a database of runway survey information asa function of the aircraft state parameter information.
 3. Thesituational awareness system of claim 2 wherein the means foridentifying further comprises means for receiving a plurality ofelectrical signals representative of the aircraft state parameterinformation.
 4. The situational awareness system of claim 1 wherein themeans for generating further comprises means for generating thesituational awareness advisory as a function of determining acoincidence within selected limits of the aircraft with a centerline ofthe one runway.
 5. The situational awareness system of claim 1, furthercomprising: means for generating a graphical depiction of the oneidentified runway for display on a cockpit display device; and whereinthe means for generating the situational awareness advisory furthercomprises means for generating a graphical depiction of the currentaircraft relative to the graphical depiction of the identified runway.6. A runway situational awareness advisory apparatus, comprising: adatabase of runway survey data; a processor structured configured toreceive samples of one or more signals reporting a plurality ofdifferent aircraft state parameter data and for retrieving runway surveydata from the database; and one or more algorithms executable by theprocessor configured to generate one of a plurality of different runwayawareness advisories as a function of one or more of the aircraft stateparameter data and the retrieved runway survey data, wherein the one ormore algorithms executable by the processor configured to generate oneof a plurality of different runway awareness advisories furthercomprises one or more algorithms executable by the processor configuredto generate one of the plurality of different runway awarenessadvisories as a function of determining a relationship of an aircrafthaving the processor installed thereon to an identified runway, andwherein the one or more algorithms executable by the processorconfigured to generate one of a plurality of different runway awarenessadvisories further comprises one or more algorithms executable by theprocessor configured to generate one of the plurality of differentrunway awareness advisories as a function of determining a coincidencewithin selected limits of the aircraft having the processor installedthereon with the identified runway.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 whereinthe one or more algorithms executable by the processor further compriseone or more algorithms executable by the processor configured toidentify a runway of the retrieved runway survey data as a function ofone or more of the aircraft state parameter data.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 6 wherein the one or more algorithms executable by the processorconfigured to generate one of the plurality of different runwayawareness advisories as a function of determining a coincidence of theaircraft with the identified runway further comprises one or morealgorithms executable by the processor configured to generate one of theplurality of different runway awareness advisories as a function ofdetermining an alignment within selected limits of the aircraft havingthe processor installed thereon to the identified runway.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein the one or more algorithms executable bythe processor for generating configured to generate one of the pluralityof different runway awareness advisories as a function of determining acoincidence of the aircraft with the identified runway further comprisesone or more algorithms executable by the processor for generatingconfigured to generate one of the plurality of different runwayawareness advisories as a function of determining a coincidence withinselected limits of the aircraft with a centerline of the identifiedrunway.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the one or more algorithmsexecutable by the processor for generating one of the plurality ofdifferent runway awareness advisories as a function of determining acoincidence of the aircraft with the identified runway further comprisesone or more algorithms executable by the processor for generating one ofthe plurality of different runway awareness advisories as a function ofdetermining a coincidence of the aircraft with an envelope encompassingthe identified runway wherein the envelope augments one or more physicallimits of the identified runway.
 11. An apparatus for generating arunway awareness advisory, the apparatus comprising: a searchabledatabase of stored runway survey information; a source of a plurality ofinstrument data signals each reporting updated aircraft state parameterdata; a memory having a plurality of machine instructions storedtherein, the machine instructions being executable by a processor forgenerating one of a plurality of different runway awareness advisoriesas a function of runway survey information retrieved from the searchabledatabase and one or more of the updated aircraft state parameter data;and a processor coupled to receive the updated aircraft state parameterdata and coupled to the memory for retrieving the machine instructions,the processor being structured to operate the machine instructions for:determining as a function of the updated aircraft state parameter dataone or more of a current aircraft position, ground speed, heading, phaseof flight, and altitude, accessing the searchable database forretrieving runway survey information as a function of the currentaircraft position, and one or more of: 1) generating at periodicintervals flare callouts as a function of a current aircraft phase offlight, altitude rate, and height above runway information, 2)generating for display on a cockpit display device of an aircraft havingthe processor installed thereon a graphical depiction the installationaircraft relative to the retrieved runway survey information, 3)selecting a runway as a function of the updated aircraft state parameterdata, the retrieved runway survey information, and an augmentationenvelope constructed around each runway retrieved from the retrievedrunway survey information, 4) generating one of the plurality ofdifferent runway awareness advisories as a function of determining acoincidence of the current aircraft position with an augmentationenvelope constructed around one runway retrieved from the retrievedrunway survey information, and determining an angle between the currentaircraft heading and a centerline of the runway; and 5) wherein themachine instructions for generating at periodic intervals flare calloutsfurther comprise machine instructions for: determining that an aircrafthaving the processor installed thereon is currently airborne;determining that the installation aircraft is currently configured in alanding phase of flight; determining that the installation aircraft hasa current altitude rate less than a threshold altitude rate; andgenerating at periodic intervals flare callouts that report a currentheight above ground of the installation aircraft.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the machine instructions for generating a graphicaldepiction of the installation aircraft relative to the runway surveyinformation further comprise machine instructions for: generating agraphical depiction of the retrieved runway survey information fordisplay on a cockpit display device of an aircraft having the processorinstalled thereon; and generating a plot the current position,orientation and ground speed of the installation aircraft relative tothe graphical depiction of the retrieved runway survey information. 13.The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the machine instructions for selectinga runway further comprise machine instructions for: determining aplurality of runways nearest a current position of an aircraft havingthe processor installed thereon; constructing an augmentation enveloperelative to each of the nearest runways; and determining a presence ofthe aircraft within one of the runway envelopes by comparing the currentaircraft position with each of the runway envelopes.
 14. The apparatusof claim 11 wherein the machine instructions for generating one of therunway awareness advisories further comprise machine instructions for:determining a plurality of runways nearest a current position of anaircraft having the processor installed thereon; constructing anaugmentation envelope relative to each of the nearest runways as afunction of the retrieved runway survey information and the currentposition, ground speed and heading of the installation aircraft,determining a coincidence of the current aircraft position with theenvelope around one of the runways, and determining an angle between thecurrent aircraft heading and a centerline of the runway.
 15. A localsituational awareness system, comprising: means for identifying one ormore runways as a function of state parameter information of anaircraft; means for determining a relationship of the aircraft to oneidentified runway as a function of the state parameter information, andfor constructing an envelope encompassing the identified runway andaugmenting one or more physical limits of the one identified runway; andmeans for generating a situational awareness advisory as a function ofthe relationship of the aircraft to the identified runway.
 16. A localsituational awareness system, comprising: means for identifying one ormore runways as a function of state parameter information of anaircraft; means for determining a relationship of the aircraft to oneidentified runway as a function of the state parameter information;means for generating a situational awareness advisory as a function ofthe relationship of the aircraft to the identified runway, and forgenerating at periodic intervals flare callouts that report a currentheight above the runway when the aircraft is configured in a landingphase of flight, is airborne above the runway within selected limits,and has an altitude rate less than a threshold altitude rate.
 17. Arunway situational awareness advisory apparatus, comprising: a databaseof runway survey data; a processor structured configured to receivesamples of one or more signals reporting a plurality of differentaircraft state parameter data and for retrieving runway survey data fromthe database; and one or more algorithms executable by the processorconfigured to generate one of a plurality of different runway awarenessadvisories as a function of one or more of the aircraft state parameterdata and the retrieved runway survey data, wherein the one or morealgorithms executable by the processor configured to generate on of aplurality of different runway awareness advisories further comprises oneor more algorithms executable by the processor configured to generateone of the plurality of different runway awareness advisories as afunction of determining a relationship of an aircraft having theprocessor installed thereon to an identified runway, and wherein the oneor more algorithms executable by the processor configured to generateone of a plurality of different runway awareness advisories furthercomprises one or more algorithms executable by the processor configuredto generate at periodic intervals runway situational awarenessadvisories that report a current height above the identified runway whenan aircraft having the processor installed thereon is configured in alanding phase of flight, the aircraft is airborne above the runwaywithin selected limits, and the aircraft has an altitude rate less thana threshold altitude rate.
 18. A runway situational awareness advisoryapparatus comprising: a database of runway survey data; a processorstructure configured to receive samples of one or more signals reportinga plurality of different aircraft state parameter data and forretrieving runway survey data from the data base; and one or morealgorithms executable by the processor configured to generate one of aplurality of different runway awareness advisories as a function of oneor more of the aircraft state parameter data and the retrieved runwaysurvey data, and wherein the one or more algorithms executable by theprocessor further comprises means configured to generate a graphicaldepiction of the retrieved runway survey data for display on a cockpitdisplay device; and wherein the one or more algorithms executable by theprocessor configured to generate one of a plurality of different runwayawareness advisories further comprises one or more algorithms executableby the processor configured to generate a graphical depiction of anaircraft having the processor installed thereon relative to thegraphical depiction of the retrieved runway survey data.